


Lonely Before You

by ninjakitty



Category: Little Witch Academia
Genre: (don’t worry; there’s a happy ending. eventually.), Also hey! No previous knowledge of LWA required, Angst, F/F, Futuristic, Sci-Fi, Shakespeare would weep if he could see what tragic angst I have wrought, Slow Burn-ish?, Twilight Zone AU, angst upon angst, could count as hurt-comfort, lol no explicit smut sorry, mainly rated for sci-fi violence and language, mostly angst though., snippets of fluff, so if you want to make your friends cry too feel free to share ;), though it’s alluded to off-screen, we’ve got androids!, younger characters have been aged up to their 20’s
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-25
Updated: 2018-02-28
Packaged: 2019-03-23 19:11:05
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 24,469
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13794336
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ninjakitty/pseuds/ninjakitty
Summary: Earth, year 3046. A lot has changed… not that Amanda O’Neill knows about any recent events, seeing as she’s stuck on an asteroid nine-million miles away. When she was shipped up for her confinement, she didn’t expect how badly the solitude would get to her. But one day, she receives a visitor that just might turn her loneliness around.Based off Twilight Zone episode ‘The Lonely’. Chapter specific warnings included.





	1. Arrival

“Ow! Motherfucking son of a…”

Swearing profusely, Amanda clutched at her arm. She’d just been trying to hold the beam in place long enough for the epoxy-binding to set, but the damn thing had slipped, smacking her wrist and nearly bashing her skull in. Stupid sweaty hands. It was too goddam hot to work, but when wasn’t it on this miserable dustbowl?

Fuck this mess, she was almost done anyways.

Scrubbing a hand across her face, she regarded the structure in front of her. She’d been working for months on this pile of scrap, and at this point her jungle-gym was awesome enough to make every preschooler back on Earth piss with excitement. And to think she’d built every inch with only the tools and parts given to her by Captain hoity-toit.

She’d have to ask for some heat-resistant paint. Or at least a good pair of gloves. It would suck major ass to fry her palms once she finally got around to trying out the bars.

Not today though. Aside from the beams she still needed to attach –she gave a vindictive little kick to the one that fell- she still needed to haul everything upright and finish anchoring the base. But with bruises already blooming on her wrist, she just wasn’t in the mood. She could call it quits a bit early today.

‘S not like she had a deadline.

Amanda stood up unsteadily, stiff joints cracking as she stretched her arms above her head, wincing as the motion tugged her wrist. Tossing her wrench back into the box, she made her way back to the Block; pausing on the porch, she looked over her shoulder.

There were some days where all she could see was brown. The gross tan-brown of dead wasteland, spread as far as the eye could see. Dry ground with parched sand and rock and barren stone. Past her flat ass-crack of a valley, she knew there were even more craggy mountains, peaks and hills that stretched even further beyond before fading out of sight. It smelled like baked dirt. It smelled like fucking brown.

She shuddered and stepped inside, kicking the door shut behind her.

Stomping the dirt off her shoes as best she could, she headed down the hall to the freezer, sighing with pleasure as she opened the door and let the frigid air pour over her sweat-sticky skin. Digging in the back, she unearthed a chunk of ice, wrapping it in a dirty bandana and tying it to her wrist. It should help the swelling, at least.

Shutting the door with a click, she wandered over to the room, plopping herself onto a folding chair with a sigh. She kicked off her boots, dropping her sock-feet on top of the flimsy card table with a thud.

God, she was bored.

Belatedly flopping a hand on the table, she groped for her tattered journal. Clicking the pen on her teeth, she opened to a fresh page and started to write:

 _It is the 15_ _ th _ _day of the 6_ _ th _ _month of the 4_ _ th _ _year since I’ve been stuck on this rock and I am losing my goddamn mind. There’s nothing to do and the company sucks. Obviously there’s no one here, but at this point I’m even getting sick of **me**._

Pausing, she chewed on the end of her pen as she tried to think of something better to do. Building was out. She wasn’t hungry yet. She just sat down, so it’d be dumb to get up and take a shower. She guessed that she could always grab the ball and kick around for a bit, but she was sweaty enough already. And, again, she just sat down.

With a heavy sigh, she went back to her scrawling.

_I guess I never expected it to be so dull. I was hoping to at least get stranded someplace cool, but no, I’m on Death Valley planet, where the only interesting thing that ever happens is when Miss Prissy-pants makes her pit stop. I can’t even remember the last time that she landed here. It’s hard to keep track with all the day-to-day boring._

_~~I hope the shuttle comes back soon~~ _

This was dumb. Scowling, she scratched out the last bit before tipping back in her chair, resting an arm over her eyes and letting the book slide to the floor. The entire limb was starting to go completely numb from the ice, which was almost entirely melted away at this point.

A trickle of water leaked down her face, dripping off her chin. She didn’t bother wiping it. What was even the point of moving anymore. Nothing _else_ ever changed… why the fuck should she make an effort.

She might as well just sit like this until she died. Then she really would be here forever.

All alone.

Forever.

God. She was really so fucking bored.

***

It was late in the afternoon when the rumbling woke her with a startled yelp, sending her toppling out of her chair and onto the floor in an undignified heap. Stumbling over to the window, she blinked the sleep from her eyes and squinted out into the bright landscape.

As her eyes adjusted, she felt her heart leap in her chest. Holy shit.

“Holy shit!” She whooped, grabbing her boots from the floor and throwing open the window, scrambling to get them on her feet as she clambered out and almost tripped over the sill.

A safe ways from the Block, a rocket shuttle had completed its descent, and Amanda felt her lungs burn as she sprinted to it, waving her arms wildly at the three figures slowly making their way over.

“Damn Cavendish, aren’t you a sight for sore eyes!”

Captain Diana Cavendish blinked, withdrawing her hand from Amanda’s enthusiastic shake and straightening her uniform. “O'Neill.”

“It’s great to see you, and your crew, hey, hello,” Amanda greeted the other two, a lopsided smile stretching across her face as she caught her breath. “Welcome back to hell, glad to have you here.”

“Hell’s no less than you deserve,” the red-haired one sniffed disdainfully –England, her flight suit said, and Amanda vividly remembered her snippy remarks from last time— stepping back from Amanda as though she were diseased. “I say it’s even too nice, for a criminal like you. A black hole would be more suitable.”

“Lieutenant.” Cavendish spoke calmly, her voice low with authority. “That will be quite enough. Both of you, start unloading.”

“Wait hold on, what’s the rush? Why don’t you all come in and sit a bit, I’ve got cards, we could play a game or two before…”

“I’m afraid, Miss O'Neill,” Cavendish strode forward purposefully, militant as ever, and even with her longer legs Amanda had trouble keeping up with her efficient pace, “that we are rather pressed for time, and cannot indulge in any sort of activity.”

Amanda’s smile had barely wavered at England’s insults (she’d been called worse, from people with far more knowledge of her situation) but at Cavendish’s statement she slowed, prickling uneasily. “Shut up, there’s plenty of time. Listen, I’ve got cold drinks, and we can just sit down and—”

“Fifteen minutes, O'Neill. Any longer and the asteroid will drift too far from our planned trajectory, making it impossible to launch for another two weeks.” Opening the door, Cavendish strode into the Block, Amanda quick on her heels.

“Fifteen minutes? That’s bullshit!”

“It will be sufficient time to leave you with enough supplies until our next return.”

“Why can’t you make more time? Even just one minute longer?”

“Miss O'Neill…”

“Goddammit I haven’t seen anyone in three months! Four times a year you come, that’s it, and now you say you can only stay for fifteen-fucking-minutes?”

“O’Nei—“

“I can’t take it! I won’t stay on this rock anymore, I’m _dying_ up here on my own and if you think that you can leave my sorry ass behind while you fly off to Earth…”

“Amanda!”

Amanda froze at the sharpness in Cavendish’s tone, mouth hanging open as her rant was cut off mid-stride. Cavendish closed her eyes, sighing as she rubbed the bridge of her nose wearily.

“I understand why you’re upset. But we really must stick to the schedule. I won’t keep my crew away from home any longer than I have to.”

The room was still as the two stared each other down. Cavendish was the first to break eye contact, reaching into her uniform jacket.

“I brought you more books.”

“Take me back with you.”

“You know I can’t do that.” Amanda scowled at the statement, turning on her heel to pace the room. “I’ll leave them on your desk.”

“It’s not a desk, it’s crap on legs. I don’t want your gifts. I’m not a fucking charity case.”

“It’s all I can do for you.”

“Then bring me a pardon, damn it, that’s what I really need!” Amanda veered around, leaning in so that their faces were inches apart. Cavendish didn’t flinch from the proximity, meeting Amanda’s hard stare head-on. “I’m innocent. You know that.”

“I do.” Cavendish gently tugged Amanda’s hands from where they clutched at her shoulders, eyes sad. “But it’s up to the courts to decide if your case will be reviewed. I can’t help you any more than I already have.”

Amanda growled in frustration, reluctantly backing down. “Fuck, this sucks.”

“Inarguably.”

“Captain! Where do you want this one?”

Outside, England and the other crew member were struggling with a large crate. It was smooth, finely sanded wood, fitted together with careful precision; way different from the rough containers filled with water and rations already stacked outside.

“There is fine. Gently now.” With a grunt, the two lowered it to the ground, and Amanda tracked the movement curiously.

“Yo, what’s in there?”

“Something to help ease your loneliness, I hope.”

“I’m not—”

“You’re not a charity case, I understand, but consider accepting this as a personal favor to me.” Diana glanced at her watch, moving to head out the door. “I regret that I am unable to remain any longer. I trust my gift should be some small consolation.”

“Diana! Please…” Amanda grabbed her arm, but Cavendish brushed her off, her professionally impassive expression reaffixed across her features.

“My apologies, Miss O'Neill. Good evening.”

As she crossed the threshold, Cavendish paused, hand resting lightly on the doorknob as she turned to look back at Amanda. “My crew is not aware of the contents of your present, and I would prefer it to remain that way. I would advise you wait until we are out of sight before opening it.”

The door clicked shut softly as she exited, leaving Amanda standing alone in the center of the room.

She didn’t move as she heard the shuttle take off, didn’t even turn her head, her face carefully blank as the light slowly faded around her. She wouldn’t cry, dammit. No way.

As the sun finally set, leaving the room completely dark, she sighed, shoulders slumping as she turned to leave. Might as well take that shower now.

***

Amanda spent the next week keeping herself busy with the new supplies.

Food and drink took up the bulk of the drop, but it took her less time than she would have liked to haul in the jugs of water and tear apart the crates of dry rations. Over three months’ worth of food and drinking water, way more, she noticed, than she even needed for a backup supply. Cavendish was smuggling her extra rations out of pity now. What a softie.

Maybe too soft. Amanda grimaced, holding up a sundress with a shudder of distaste. Cavendish had tucked a small box of clothes into one of the supply crates, and Amanda had no idea what she’d done to give Cavendish the impression that she’d wear stuff like this. She enjoyed bright colors, sure, but did everything have to be so… frilled?

The dress in her hands looked like a fucking daffodil, for shit’s sake. Amanda scowled. She’d stick with her jeans and overalls, thanks.

She still put them in her closet, though. No point being wasteful.

There were a couple other things; another folding chair, a broom, extra parts and fabric that looked like they could be put together to make a new cot. A ball pump, which was hella sweet, it came with a patch kit too. A few new towels and blankets.

Nothing else.

Nothing that she needed to wonder about.

But there was only so much time she could waste reorganizing the Block before she ran out of things to do. And the thought of the mystery crate sitting outside needled at her constantly, no matter how many times she swore to herself that she would leave Cavendish’s piss-poor ‘consolation prize’ to rot in the sun.

Now, she glared at the crate sitting in front of her, willing it to burst into flames.

“Damn you Cavendish,” she grumbled when it didn’t, picking up her crowbar reluctantly. “Why don’t you take a dump in my beggar’s cup while you’re at it.”

She pried at the top, noting the FRAGILE, HANDLE WITH CARE signs stamped all over the sides. THIS END UP.

Tossing the lid and bar aside, Amanda looked in. There was another box, metallic looking, wrapped with three tight bands to keep the lid from wiggling.

There was a sheet of paper tucked under one, along with a thick booklet that she couldn’t read from here. It was wedged in pretty tight but the paper slipped free easily, and she turned it over to look at the back:

“Vacuum sealed for your convenience; add air to activate.”

There was more, typed in smaller print, but she didn’t bother with it, stuffing the paper into her pocket as she grabbed her shears. Despite herself, Amanda felt her interest rising. This was a lot more elaborate than she would have expected.

The bands were tricky to get at but Amanda managed to snap them after some careful maneuvering. Tossing the booklet off to the side without a glance, she pried at smooth metal covering until it gave way with a hiss, air rushing in and breaking the seal suctioning the lid on.

Shoving it off, she leaned over to take a look at the contents.

“What—” She froze, brain stuttering to a halt as she balanced on the rim of the crate. Unable to process what exactly what she was seeing. “What the hell is this?”

There was. A woman. Around her age, lying on the floor of the box and sweetly curled up on her side so she could fit. As Amanda watched, eyes wide, she seemed to shudder to life, eyes fluttering open as she inhaled.

“Mother of fuck!” Amanda yelped as the woman’s head twisted around to meet her gaze, and she threw herself back, tripping over her feet and sending herself sprawling into the dirt.

A hand emerged, and another, and Amanda scrambled back on her elbows in horror as the woman pulled herself up, standing to look at her with a blank expression.

“Who the hell—” Her hand nearly slipped out from under her, and as she caught her balance she saw it had landed on the booklet she had thrown aside earlier, almost tearing off the cover:

**_Artificial Companion Instruction Manual, Model 13.3.2 v2 (Beta)_ **

Amanda felt the blood drain from her face as her glance flickered back to the woman. She—no, _it_ , had climbed out and was standing next to the crate, still and straight, as though waiting for instruction.

At Amanda’s look, the robot blinked. It’s mouth opened.

“My name is Akko. What is your name?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello everyone, I’m here to put your emotions through the wringer! :3 No, seriously; ngl, from here it gets pretty intense in places. I know spoilers suck, but so do panic attacks, so I use lots of tags in the chapter notes. If you’re worried about one, need me to add another, or want to clarify the trigger/trigger location/trigger’s intensity, message me! I’ll give you the deets. If you don’t want to get spoiled, I recommend you scroll really fast. :P
> 
> And on that note… enjoy!


	2. The Android

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Tw: Physical/emotional violence, blood mention, mild injury description

Amanda stared up at the robot uncomprehendingly. “What?”

“My name is Akko… what is your name?” The ‘bot blinked again, twitching as if something activated within it. It tipped its head to the side, the movement looking a lot more human than its previous jerky motions. The sudden change gave Amanda the creeps. “Um, why are you on the ground?”

“I, uh—”

“Are you okay?” The robot started to move towards her, crouching slightly and offering out a hand. Amanda yelped, scrabbling upright.

“I’m fine, I’m fine! Don’t come near me.” Amanda studied it warily, brushing off her coveralls. The robot was a little shorter than her, in sandals and a simple white shift. It blinked again –Amanda noticed every time it did, it was such a weird tic for a bot—and tucked a strand of hair behind its ear, dark brown, the same color as its eyes.

Fuckin’ brown.

Amanda suppressed a shudder. It was so detailed, down to the lopsided chop of its kindergarten bangs. If she hadn’t seen its activation, if she hadn’t looked at the manual, there was no way that she’d be able to tell that the thing was anything other than human.

“What. The fuck. Are you.”

“I’m your companion! I think. You’re the one I’m meant for, right?” The robot beamed at her, rocking back on its heels as though pleased.

“You—” Amanda struggled to keep her composure. “Look, you’ve got to stop doing that.”

“Doing what?”

“The whole…” She flapped a hand to gesture over it, at a loss. “Pretending to have emotions thing. It’s freakin me out.”

The robot rolled its eyes, hands on its hips. “I’m not pretending, silly. I’m robotic, not repressed. Read the instructions, they’ll tell you.”

Amanda crumpled the book under her hand, feeling a sudden surge of frustration as she wadded up the pages and sent them hurtling at the robot’s chest. It stepped back, a mockery of startlement. “Fuck that, I couldn’t care less! I don’t want anything to do with having a damned robot, especially not one like you!”

Whirling around, Amanda stormed back to the Block, pulling the other paper from her pocket and crumpling it into a ball before tossing it away.

She slammed the door behind her, turning to pace the room. Fuck, coming inside was a mistake. The walls were too close, suffocating, but she'd be damned if she was going back outside with that. That.

What kind of sick joke was this? Did that _bitch_ Cavendish really think that thing was an okay substitute for willing company? It was so messed up it made Amanda want to hit something.

There was a timid knock. Amanda didn’t turn from where she had slumped on her desk, watching out of the corner of her eye as the robot slowly cracked open the door, leaning in cautiously. “Hello?”

“Fuck off.”

It didn’t listen, walking inside and shutting the door behind it softly. Amanda closed her eyes, listening as it approached. 

“You dropped these.” There was a small motion as the robot placed the book and paper on the table. It had clearly tried to smooth the paper out, but it was still wrinkled, stained with streaks of dirt. “Um. I’m sorry, I still don’t know your name.”

“None of your business.”

“Well I have to learn it if I’m staying here with you!”

Amanda jerked up as she slammed her hands into the desk, setting the objects on it rattling. The robot jumped. “Like hell you are!”

“I’m supposed to stay with you,” the robot insisted, recovering. “I’m your companion.”

The extra supplies. All of it was about the android. The bed, the _dresses_ … “SHIT!”

Amanda jumped up, overturning the table and scattering the books across the wooden boards, sending the chair flying as she whipped around to glare at the bot. “You need to leave. _Now._ ”

“But—”

Stalking over to her dresser, Amanda yanked open the doors, clawing at the carefully folded clothes, all of it wasted effort, for a thing that probably didn't even _care_.

It spluttered as it was hit by the flying clothes, stumbling forward and reaching out automatically to catch the fabric slapping across it's face. When Amanda turned around it was standing behind her with a stunned expression, clothes spilled haphazardly over its form. A fancy lace nightgown dangled off its head, one of the sleeves caught on its stupid looking ponytail.

For some reason even just looking at the thing made Amanda flush, and she ground her teeth angrily.

“Go on, get out!” Amanda reached out to shove it, hard, hating how her hands trembled. Her whole body was shaking, tight with rage, and she used that energy to push the robot back towards the door, as it struggled to keep the clothes from falling. 

“Stop, please!”

“Not- until- you’re gone!”

She flung open the door, and the robot threw out its arms, latching on to the frame in an effort not to trip over the threshold. The clothes went flying, tangling around their legs as Amanda fought to pry its fingers off.

The robot cried out, thrashing against the material trapping its ankles. “You’re hurting me!”

“No I’m not!” It was too close, trapped against her _still not gone_ , and somehow Amanda managed to work the fabric loose enough to drive her knee up into the robot’s soft stomach. It stumbled onto the porch with a gasp, doubling over.

“You can’t fucking get hurt, you’re not human you’re a robot and machines _don’t feel pain_!”

It wheezed softly, holding its stomach, and it lifted its head, staring up at Amanda as she trembled in the doorway, clothes scattered beneath her feet. “I can. I swear, I can… I can feel pain, and happiness, and sadness, and anger… I can feel everything that you can feel.”

“FUCK YOU! You’re nothing like me!” Amanda’s voice cracked, and she stomped forward, wrenching the robot up roughly by its arm and shaking it fiercely. “You’re a bunch of unfeeling wires and metal melted together and programed to mimic humans because you’re not one and you will _never_ be one!”

A jolt of fear seemed to pass through its eyes, and it struggled as Amanda’s grip tightened, nails digging into its arm. It gave beneath her hand just like skin would, but Amanda could feel the wires buzzing near imperceptibly under her fingertips; nothing more than a machine.

Amanda felt her face close off, a hollow pit opening up black and bitter in her chest. “’Companion’ my ass. You’re just a cheap replacement for someone real.”

Letting go, Amanda started to turn away.

“Can’t—replace – what you don’t. Have.”

Amanda didn’t even feel it when her fist connected, a perfect right hook that sent the robot’s head snapping to the side, and it staggered back, losing it’s balance at the edge of the stairs, tumbling down  to land gracelessly in the dirt. Teeth bared, Amanda stared down at it, chest heaving.

Slowly, the robot moved, bracing itself on shaky arms as it lifted a hand up to its face, expression hidden by its curtain of hair. It’s shoulders were trembling.

As it looked up at her, Amanda shifted back, subconsciously lowering her fists .

The brown of its iris’ was flickering, and Amanda watched a spark skitter across the pupil; there was a glitch and suddenly the hue changed to a deep, rich red, illuminating the hurt swimming within them.

What really pulled Amanda up short, though, were the tears, welling up in wet tracks that ran silently down its cheeks.

Could robots cry?

Aw shit. She'd made it cry.

She’d screwed up big time, hadn’t she.

“I—” Amanda took a step forward, jerking to a halt as the robot flinched away, raising an arm defensively. “Fuck.”

There was a small cut over the robot’s cheekbone, where Amanda’s fist had split skin, and the sight of it made her feel like she'd swallowed a ton of concrete. Moving slowly, so as not to alarm it, Amanda backed away, disappearing into the Block.

She was back a minute later, a cheap bandaid clutched in her hand, with a damp rag she’d grabbed from the clean laundry.

The robot hadn’t moved, and watched warily as Amanda made her way over, squatting down carefully once she was close and shuffling down the stairs in what was hopefully a non-threatening crouch.

She silently offered the rag. After a suspicious look, the robot accepted cautiously, pressing it to its face.

Amanda sighed, dropping to the ground.

“Look, I—” Swearing under her breath, Amanda raked a nervous hand through her hair.  There was no good way to fix this. “I was being a dick. I overreacted.”

“You could have broken my ribs.” The robot’s expression was hard to read at this point, but Amanda saw the way its fingers shook, tightening over the cloth.

She was such a fucking horrible person.

“Don’t you have like, metal bones or something though? Doesn’t that protect you?”

It gave her a look like it was trying to figure out if she were serious or not. “Obviously not from everything.”

“Right.” Amanda groped for words, trying to move past her slip up. “There’s no way that this will make anything better but. I hurt you… you’re hurt now because I wouldn’t listen, and it’s all my fault.” It was hard to make eye contact, but Amanda forced herself to do it. “I’m sorry.”

It didn’t say anything, but it nodded, wary skepticism giving way to something marginally more relaxed. Internally, Amanda was nearly sobbing with relief, but she kept her cool as she extended the bandaid. “Here. For your face.”

It looked at it and its lips twitched, turning up at the corners humorlessly. “I can’t see where to put it.”

“Oh. Duh. Can I, uh…”

“Just stick it on already.” Awkward now, Amanda carefully scooted towards it, not wanting to move too suddenly, and the robot almost seemed amused as it sat up, sitting criss-cross as it shifted experimentally in place.

“Anywhere else hurt?” Amanda asked. The bot hadn’t managed to get all the dirt off, so Amanda took the rag, gently wiping the smears carefully away from the cut. There was no blood, per say; the liquid seeping up was nearly transparent, thick and sluggish. Weird.

“My stomach hurts. My arm... everywhere you manhandled me.” Amanda winced, and for a moment the robot looked like it would pull away. “I do have metal bones, but I have the same durability as a human. So not much.”

“I’ll remember that,” Amanda said quietly, peeling the wrapper off to stick on the bandaid, smoothing it on gently. “There. Done.”

As Amanda drew back, the robot caught her wrist, twisting it around to examine her hand. “Hey, you’re bleeding.”

Amanda looked down at her knuckles, scraped red and raw, the impact having done plenty of damage to her as well. Amanda flexed her fingers, finally conscious of how much it stung. “Karma. I deserve it.”

The robot gave her an odd look, a rainbow of unidentifiable emotions washing over its face before it shook its head, focusing its attention on standing up. Or attempting to.

“Whoa slow down there.” Amanda shot up as it stumbled, catching it before it could fall over again, not missing the way the robot stiffened at the contact.

Deliberately, Amanda took her arm away, stepping back once the robot found its balance.

“I’m going inside,” the robot said shortly, stepping over the dirty clothes still scattered in the doorway. Amanda almost followed it in, but changed her mind at the last second. It probably didn’t want anything to do with her for a while.

Bending over, she started picking up the mess. With any luck she’d be able to clean things up okay.

***

By the time Amanda had picked up the room and dumped her load in the machine, the robot had moved to the bathroom, half hanging out of the cupboards under the sink as it rummaged around for something. Amanda watched for a few seconds as it searched, leaning awkwardly against the doorframe, before finally coughing to announce her presence.

The robot jumped with a startled squeak, smacking the top of the cabinet. It hastily extracted itself, rubbing its head gingerly as it scrambled upright.

A long pause stretched between them, as they regarded each other cautiously.

The robot finally broke the silence. “Hello.”

“Hey.”

“Do you have gauze and wrapping?”

“Um… bottom shelf, I think. It’s a white box in the back.” She hardly ever used it. It was faster just to tie cloth over an injury and keep going.

The robot nodded, resuming it’s digging while Amanda withered internally. God-fucking-damnit, this whole thing was awkward and stilted as hell, but she had no idea what to do at this point to make things better.

“Found it!” It emerged triumphantly a moment later with a pleased grin and brandished the supplies. “Sit down, I’m going to fix your hand.”

Amanda couldn’t help but snort at the command. “It didn’t take long for you to get bossy.”

Nevertheless, she slid gingerly into the tiny room, settling down on the toilet lid. It immediately began dabbing at her scrapes, and Amanda quietly sucked in a hissing breath at the sting of peroxide.

“Hey, you pushed me around enough already. I think it’s my turn.” The robot’s face was still guarded, but as it set the gauze and started wrapping her knuckles there was a subtle shift to its expression that Amanda couldn’t quite place.

She side-eyed it suspiciously as a thought occurred to her. “Was that a fucking pun?”

The robot nodded with a serious look, tapping its stomach meaningfully. “Yeah. I really get a kick out of them.”

A beat went by before Amanda burst out laughing, dropping her face into the palm of her free hand. “Oh my god, that’s horrible in so many ways.” She could hear the robot giggling at her, and when she looked up, it stuck its tongue out playfully. “No seriously that’s fucking awful. Why.”

“Maybe I just wanted to _break_ the tension!” At her obligatory groan, it grinned, meeting her eyes. “You know, I think I like you better when you’re laughing.”

“By the way,” it continued, “I never got your name. Can we just start over?” It finished winding the bandage, taping down the loose end before sticking out its hand. “Hi! I’m Akko.”

She didn’t hesitate this time, reaching out to take its hand and give it a solid shake.

“I’m Amanda. Pleased to meet you, Akko.”


	3. As the Months go By...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ~ _Here comes the fluff, do_ _do_ _do_ _do!_ We’re about to hit pay dirt here, people ;333 Well, eventually. Who’s ready for a looong, emotionally draining chapter?
> 
> (No, but seriously, buckle up; this chapter is literally half of the total fic. Bc who needs proper pacing? :P But seriously, this is a great place to pause for the night, get water, eat, use the bathroom, etc., etc. Gotta look out for my readers! ^u^ )
> 
>  Tw: Blood mention, very brief mention of implied attempted rape

_ Year 4, Month 7 _

_ Day 1 _

_It’s been a few weeks since Akko showed up and it’s never fucking quiet in this place now. From the day she got here it’s been constant chatter, and at this point I’m not sure the quiet wasn’t better. Thank fuck she sleeps at night._

_She can eat too, if she wants, which is pretty cool. Androids have sure gotten a lot more advanced since I’ve been gone. She says that she was built to mimic us close as ~~humanly~~ ~~oh god her puns are rubbing off on me~~ **physically** and mentally possible. (Aside from being all circuits and junk.) Akko says it’s all explained in the instructions, but it seems weird to just read about someone from a crappy pamphlet. I can just ask, like seriously, was it expected that people would not talk to the androids? Lord knows I can’t stop Akko from talking to me._

_I think she’s pretty much gotten over what I did to her. She doesn’t flinch every time I walk by anymore. I still feel like the biggest douchebag to walk the face of the Earth (har-de-har) but... she told me she’s okay now. Her face healed up fine (nanobots, apparently, which explains that liquid stuff. … robots… in a robot? Robo_ _ 2 _ _.) and nothing was permanently broken  except for whatever happened to her eyes. Her vision is working fine though. And she really likes the new color; she says they look like fresh raspberries. How the hell can she make that comparison, we don’t even have raspberries here._

“Hey Akko, how the fuck do you know what fruit looks like?”

Akko looked up from where she lay sprawled across her cot, kicking her feet behind her idly as her attention was pulled from the ratty paperback she’d been reading. “Some of my memories are pre-programmed. Only the very basics, like language and knowing what stuff is. I think I know about as much as a human adult? I still need to fill in some gaps myself though.”

“Huh. So wait, do you have a photographic memory or any of that shit?”

Akko scrunched up her nose, puzzled. “What’s that?”

“It’s when you can remember stuff perfectly after you’ve seen it.” Amanda snapped her fingers as she thought of an idea. “Here, toss me your book.”

She complied with a mystified look, and Amanda flipped randomly to the middle.

“Okay, what’s on page 203?”

“Um…” Akko plopped her cheeks into her hands, crossing her eyes as she tried to think. “Is that where… Shida tries to convince her father to let her marry Han…?”

“Not even close,” Amanda confirmed, skimming the page. She let out a low whistle. “Hot damn, where’d you get your hands on this? Akko, I didn’t think you were the type.”

Akko’s face instantly went red, and she jumped like she’d been shocked, hurrying over to snatch the book away. Amanda let her take it without resistiance, a smirk plastered across her face.

“I-It was wedged under the dresser! I found it after I dropped something and was curious!”

“The dresser was wobbly and I don’t like romances.” Amanda let her grin turn into a smolder, leaning forward on her elbow and dropping her voice. “But apparently I’m missing out on a ~ _thrilling~_ read.”

Akko muttered something unintelligible, avoiding Amanda’s eyes as she flipped back to her place and hid her flushed face behind the pages. Despite her flustered state, she quickly became reabsorbed in the story.

She chewed on the ends of her hair when she was concentrating. Amanda stifled a laugh, and resumed writing.

_I don’t know what I was expecting at first, but I have to admit. Akko is pretty chill to get along with. It’s nice to have someone else up here._

_Note to self: read the book when Akko’s done with it. Tease her relentlessly afterwards._

***

“And I am _done_ , motherfucker!”

With a whoop, Amanda spiked her spade into the dirt, whirling around to where Akko sat in the shade of the tarp they'd rigged up. Amanda spread her arms, holding them out as she gestured proudly to the jumble of metal bars behind her. “This jungle gym is – _officially_ — my bitch now.”

“Hey! I helped too!” Akko scrambled up, streaked with dirt from where she’d been working with Amanda earlier pressing down the foundation. She’d even gotten some on her nose.

Cute. Amanda let out an exaggerated sigh. “Fine, I guess you get some credit. C’mere.”

Akko grinned, high-fiving Amanda’s offered hands with a loud smack.

“I finished most of it so it’s still my bitch though.”

“Well sure, I mean, you worked so _doggone_ hard on it.”

“Fuck you!” Amanda swatted at her and Akko dodged, laughing as she ran over to the base of the playground.

“So can I go up now?” She was already poised to climb up, looking back expectantly.

“I mean, I guess it’s safe, but -hey hold on!” Akko hadn’t waited for her to finish, clambering up with surprising speed, especially considering how tired she claimed to be just a few minutes ago. “Oi, you’ll burn your hands!”

“It’s almost dusk, its fine! Come on up you big wimp!”

“Oh so that’s how it is?” Amanda jumped, catching onto a rung. It was warm, but when it didn’t immediately scald her palms, she grinned, pulling herself up. “Dude, bring it on!”

An hour passed before they finally had to call it quits, panting from the exertion.

“I don’t get it,” Amanda sighed once she caught her breath. “How can you be so clumsy on the ground, but almost give me a heart attack running on these thin-ass beams?”

“I have skillz.” Akko posed goofily, fist underneath her chin as she stuck out a leg, before laughing and dropping her hands back to the bar beneath her. She kicked gently, swinging her feet out into empty space. “Where did you learn to do tricks like that?”

Okay. Amanda could admit that she might have been showing off a little, but it was hard not to get into it once she saw how easily Akko took to the set. And _maybe_ with Akko watching she’d gotten a little reckless, but what could she say? She loved an audience.

At one point she’d dropped head-first down the center support, stopping herself with her legs only inches from the ground. Akko had applauded enthusiastically once she stopped yelling.

Now Amanda shrugged, shifting so that she leaned back against a post, tucking her hands behind her head and letting a leg dangle off to the side. “Skillz.”

“Pffpbt, that’s a lame answer.”

Ignoring Amanda’s raised eyebrow, Akko looked out over the horizon, to where the sun was slipping behind a set of mountains.

“Have you ever been out there?”

“Out of this valley?” Akko nodded. “Yeah, back when I first got here. I would spend months wandering around the mountains, exploring the caves. Some places out there I know better than I remember Earth.”

Akko went quiet. Amanda watched her, how her legs kicked out like she was on a swing.

“Never found anything really interesting though. I stopped after I realized that the only thing out there was more dirt and a few salt-flats. This place is just some random rock that they found floating in space and decided to stick an atmosphere on before realizing there wasn’t anything to be gained by it.”

“Well, that can’t be true, can it? They must have sent you up here for _some_ reason.”

Amanda flashed her a cocky grin. “Yeah I’m up here, but you call that a gain? Earth lost out big time by getting rid of me.”

A snort from Akko. Victory.

“You know,” Akko said thoughtfully. “I would still like to explore a little, maybe climb a few mountains. The caves you mentioned sound really cool.”

“Why?”

“It’s all still new to me! I’ve been here for over a month, and all I’ve seen is the Block.” She spun suddenly, throwing her leg over like she was straddling a broomstick, arms braced in front of her as she leaned towards Amanda eagerly. “I bet the view of the sky is beautiful from the top of the peaks!”

Akko’s eyes glowed as they caught the light the sunset. Caught off guard by her enthusiasm, Amanda looked away with a cough.

“I guess it wouldn’t be so bad to hike around a bit.”

“Yay!”

“Later though,” Amanda grumbled, rubbing at her shoulder. “I’m so fucking sore from working on this thing… as soon as we get back I’m going to lie face-down on the floor for a week.”

“Wow, you’re really out of shape.”

“Hey!”

Akko smirked –god, her smug face was so annoying— and swung off the bar. “It’s getting pretty dark. We should probably go back inside before we fall or something.”

“Hmph.” Amanda grumbled, shifting her weight in order to follow her down. “Trust me, I won’t.”

***

_ Year 4, Month 9 _

_ Day 15 _

_Cavendish and her space monkeys swung by today. Not long… 20 minutes, just enough time to drop and bolt. Fuckin’ rude if you ask me._

_I did have a quick chat with Cavendish as she ‘inspected my quarters.’ (I don’t know what she puts in her reports, I’ve never seen her actually look at anything. Although I guess if she’s dropping off ball pumps and wall patches she must at least notice what a fucking wreck this place is.)_

_She asked how Akko was working for me. Weird way to put it, but I told her that we were getting along great. Akko wasn’t there *obviously*. She holed herself up in the bathroom away from the space-cadets. Cavendish might be in the know, but from the sound of it England and Parker would get their panties in a bunch if they even suspected that someone else was here._

_Cavendish seemed… I don’t know, surprised or something when I said how much I appreciated having a friend up here. I never know what she’s thinking, but I swear I saw something happen with her face. Could’ve been gas. She’s full of hot air._

_No gifts this time, not from Cavendish. After what a surprise Akko was, can’t say I’m too upset with that. England did toss a watch through my window as they were leaving, “to count every second of your life here as you’re left to dry.” Dickwad. I’m almost glad I didn’t get my pardon, because then I’d be stuck flying back with her. I hope she gets blasted out of the airlock into a field of interstellar cacti._

_Nice watch though. Not my style, but Akko really likes it. Must be a relative of hers._

***

“Okay, your move.”

A dust storm was blowing outside, thick enough to block out the sun. Wind was the only real weather to worry about on this place, and Amanda knew from experience that it was better to be inside once it started picking up.

Akko had dug up an old board game, tucked away where Amanda had forgotten about it, and they were playing checkers on the floor. They’d tried chess, but Amanda couldn’t remember most of the rules and had given up when Akko started stealing all the ‘horsies’.

“Amanda?”

“Yeah?” She was only paying half attention, trying to figure out the best way to set up her next jump.

“Why were you sent here?”

The room was quiet, and Amanda listened to the wind tearing across the walls as she thought about what to say.

This wasn’t the first time Akko had asked. Amanda had always brushed it off before, claiming she was too rad for Earth to handle.

She wasn’t exactly good at talking about herself. And most of the time, she figured it wasn’t worth bumming people out by bringing up the past. But there was something about how they were sitting here, alone in the dark…

“I used to be a dancer,” Amanda said quietly, feigning nonchalance as she slid her piece up a space. “At this club in New York, nowhere fancy. Most people thought it was a bad sort of job, but I liked it. Paid pretty well. Pissed off my conservative parents too, which was a bonus.”

Akko nodded, jumping her king to capture Amanda’s piece.

“Anyways, one night the manager had to ditch early, so she asked me to lock up shop. We’d usually get out real early in the morning, so the streets were pretty much deserted, and when I went out front,” Amanda swallowed, toes curling underneath her. “this big guy jumped me and dragged me back into the alley.”

Akko was staring at her with wide eyes, concern written all over her face. “Did he—”

“He didn’t have time to really get at me.” Amanda tried for a smile, but she wasn’t sure it reached her eyes. “I started fighting the moment he grabbed me, ‘n finally managed to throw a lucky punch that got his throat. He let go and I took off. I didn’t realize until I got home that I was holding the keys in my knuckles the whole time. Though the blood on my hands kinda freaked me out.” Amanda ran a trembling hand through her hair, oddly sheepish.

“He was too wasted to go get help. They found him in the alley next day. The cops traced it to me, and considering how I was... There was a quick trial and then I was slapped with fifty years and shipped up here.”

“That’s so unfair!” Akko blurted, and Amanda noticed with alarm that there were angry tears forming in the corners of her eyes. “It was an accident! You were defending yourself!”

“Whoa hey I know that! It’s okay though, it’s nice up here. I dig the accommodations.” Amanda had paced it out once. Roughly a thousand square feet if you included the water reclaimer and generators. “You know they built this whole place just for me?”

“You’ve been all alone for almost five years,” Akko whispered.

“At least no one can bother me up here?” Amanda shrugged, uncomfortable. “I was pretty pissed at first, but there’s nothing I can do about it now. There’s always the chance they’ll go over the case. I could get a pardon any day now.”

She stiffened as Akko suddenly surged forward, the game pieces scattering underneath her as she threw her arms out, enveloping Amanda in a hug. It was the first time Akko had willingly gotten this close to her, and once she got over her shock, Amanda found herself tentatively reaching out to wrap her arms around Akko’s trembling frame. She was warmer than Amanda expected.

“You shouldn’t have ever had to go through all of that,” Akko's voice was muffled, face pressed into Amanda’s shoulder so that Amanda could feel the hum of her voice. “I hope you get your pardon soon.”

“Yeah, same.” Not knowing what else to do, Amanda awkwardly patted her on the back a few times before gently prying herself free of Akko’s grip. “Really though, I’m fine. I’ve got you here to bug me now, don’t I? I’m all set.”

Akko sniffed, chuckling wetly as she wiped her nose morosely on the back of her wrist.

“You know,” Amanda added after a beat, with exaggerated seriousness, “if you really want to cry over me, it should be because of how bad I was whooping your ass at checkers.”

“What? No!” Akko gasped, affronted, her attention successfully diverted. “I totally had you on the ropes!”

“I was kicking butt! That’s the real reason you trashed the board, you knew I had you.”

“Just shut up and help me put the pieces back.”

***

“This is kind’a random, but do you remember anything from before you woke up here?”

Akko paused thoughtfully, trapping the ball clumsily with her sneaker. “It’s pretty fuzzy.”

“So you do remember something.”

Akko had a strong kick, but she couldn’t aim for shit, and Amanda had to jump to catch the power-ball she sent hurtling back.

“Sorry!” Akko raised an arm, not seeming to know what to do with it, settling on rubbing the back of her head and frowning slightly. “We’re not supposed to be able to process anything before we’re active. I read about it in the instructions.”

Akko watched as Amanda dribbled the ball between her feet, kicking it up to bounce on a knee. “I remember a white room though. I was sitting on a table? And a pretty lady with red hair was on a different table across from me. She seemed nice, she smiled at me.”

“Did you know her or something?” Amanda slowed, allowing the ball to drop back to the ground as she looked at Akko, curious.

“I have no idea!” Akko scuffed the dirt, then shrugged, bemused. “She was taken away by someone else, and I don’t remember anything after that.”

“Huh. That’s really weird.”

“Yeah… I hope someday I can remember more about who she was.”

Amanda grinned, catching a hint of bashfulness in Akko’s statement. “You said she was pretty, yeah? Bet you wish you’d gotten to spend more time with her~”

“What?!” Amanda shot her the ball with a smirk, and Akko stomped on it in her confusion, flailing wildly as it slipped out from under her foot. Amanda watched with a broadening smirk as Akko fished the ball from the net she was guarding, noting the flush creeping up the back of her neck.

“How do you even blush if you don’t have blood?”

“I’m not blushing!” Akko’s entire face was blotchy when she finally turned around, and Amanda snorted.

“Dude, you’re bright red; getting all hot and bothered over your lady friend are you…? HOLY SHIT!”

Amanda barely had time to get her hands up before the ball hit, stinging her palms with a sharp ‘smack!’ as she caught it barely centimeters from her face.

“OhmygodIamsosorry!” Across from her, Akko had frozen in place, hands over her mouth. “I wasn’t aiming, I just kicked and—”

“That was fucking awesome!” Amanda cut her off, grinning wildly as she lowered the ball. “You nearly took my head off!”

“Seriously??”

Amanda couldn’t help but laugh. Akko looked like she’d just read a particularly stupid plot twist, and her dumbfounded expression was _hilarious_.

“Yeah, seriously, that was a great kick. It would have been better if you’d done it on purpose though. Look,” Amanda said, jogging over, “you just need to loosen up a bit. Here, kick at the net like _this_.”

Amanda pantomimed the kick, pivoting slowly. “It’s a lot easier to aim if you bend your leg more, and hit with the top of your foot… okay no, stop, here…”

Akko had been attempting to copy her movements, tapping the ball so that it rocketed up, pinging off the edge of the goal. Amanda retrieved it as it rolled away, plopping it at Akko’s feet.

“So when you’re kicking,” Amanda slid behind her, placing her hands lightly on Akko’s sides, facing her in the right direction. “You want to be looking at where the ball is headed, not down at your feet. Let your hips follow through in the same direction of the kick, that’ll help a lot. But that stiffness you’ve got going on is the main reason your aim is off, so try and relax, yeah?”

As Amanda spoke, she nudged the back of Akko’s knee with her own, guiding her through the movement and gently twisting Akko’s hips to demonstrate the follow through.

“And remember,” Amanda added as she stepped back, snagging the ball back. “Use the top of your foot, not your toe. So that when you kick…” Amanda quickly shifted her weight, stepping forward fluidly and shooting the ball cleanly into the net with a satisfying ‘thwack!’ “…the ball goes where you want it.”

“And that’s how you score a hella sweet shot.” Turning her head, Amanda flashed a cocky grin over to Akko, who was staring at Amanda with her mouth gaping, and Amanda noted with amusement the traces of blush still lingering in her cheeks. It really was too damn easy to tease Akko; Amanda made a mental note to bring up the red lady again sometime.

Amanda ambled over to the net and fished out the ball, tossing it over. “Alright, now show me what’chu got.”

Akko blinked down at the ball as it rolled to a stop, bouncing gently off her sneaker, then looked up to where Amanda stood in the goal, arms crossed with her hip cocked challengingly. Something must have sunk in, and Akko’s expression changed, the jittery look from before morphing into determination.

Eyebrows scrunched in concentration, Akko moved, lodging her left foot next to the ball, and it dug into the dirt as she twisted, fists clenched and swinging with all her might as her foot smacked the ball.

Amanda whooped, dropping to the ground in order to dodge, so the ball only whooshed through the tips of her hair before striking the net dead-center.

“Hell motherfucking yes, you got it!” Amanda thought Akko’s face would split in half with how wide she was beaming. She shrieked as Amanda barreled into her, scooping her up a congratulatory side tackle that sent them both tumbling, and Akko was nearly crying with laughter as she struggled to get away from Amanda’s enthusiastic noogying.

They stayed like that for a while, sprawled across the ground, streaked with dirt and sweat and leaning into each other as their shoulders shook with dying laughter.

Wiping at her eyes (and only succeeding in smearing the dirt across her face) Akko jumped up, arm outstretched towards Amanda. “Let’s keep going!”

“If you’re up for it.” Amanda grinned, reaching up to clasp Akko’s hand.

***

Cavendish shifted in her seat, sipping the dregs of her tea in its rough ceramic mug as she regarded Amanda from across the table, where she sat glaring at the hand Cavendish had lain down.

“Figures that you’d get a Royal Flush,” Amanda finally grumbled, tossing her cards down in disgust. She’d been really banking on those nines. “Are you sure you’re not cheating somehow?”

“I would never,” Cavendish replied demurely, allowing the briefest of smiles to flit across her otherwise perfect poker face. Amanda squinted at her doubtfully.

The supply drop, for once, had an overlay. Parker and English had rather snootily elected to return to the ship after everything was unloaded. Good riddance. Cavendish had stayed behind, and had somehow been whooping their asses at poker for the past hour.

“Aw man!” Akko moaned beside her, slumping over her elbow and letting her cards fall dejectedly. “I thought for sure I had it that time.”

“You only had a pair of threes,” Cavendish pointed out.

“I could have gotten lucky!”

“She cheats, I’m telling ya.” Amanda leaned back, lacing her fingers comfortably behind her head. “She probably knows where every card is in the deck at all times.”

Cavendish chuckled. “If anyone were to master such a feat, it would more probably be the one with the computer for a brain.”

Akko stuck out her lip, drawing her eyebrows together in a pout. “No way! I’m not nearly as smart as you are Diana.”

“I’m flattered.” With a faint smirk, Cavendish held up her mug meaningfully, raising a brow. “Now, I believe I won the last ten hands…?”

“Yeah yeah,” Amanda sighed good-naturedly, reaching over to grab the mug. “One spot o’ tea for the Brit, coming right up.”

“Much obliged.”

As Amanda pushed her chair back, she noticed Akko squirming in her seat, and shot her a puzzled look. Akko shrugged, and Amanda stuck her tongue out before wandering over to the stove.

“Diana, what are the other robots like? Back on Earth?”

Well that was unexpected. Although knowing Akko, it really shouldn’t have been. Amanda darted a glance over her shoulder just in time to see the surprise flash across Cavendish’s face, clearly taken aback by the question.

“I assume you mean the androids like you?” Akko must have nodded, because Cavendish continued after a brief pause. “I can’t tell you much, honestly. I only return to Earth about once every few months; you are the first of your model that I’ve interacted with more than just in passing on the street.”

Amanda spoke up distractedly. “If it was just in passing, how could you tell they were ‘bots? They’re pretty indistinguishable.” She’d had to put on a completely new kettle of water, and she cursed at the old electrics. Who’s dumb idea was it to gamble with tea-bags anyway?  

“Identification is fairly easy; all androids of higher classification are required to wear blue armbands, in order to avoid confusion.”

A prickle of unease ran over the back of Amanda’s neck.

Akko didn’t seem to notice anything odd about the statement, curiosity in her tone as she spoke. “Higher classification? What does that mean?”

“Well. Your model especially is a fairly new development in the robotics industry. Back when Amanda was on Earth, androids were quite basic, designed to perform only simple tasks. Before last year, there weren’t any of high enough quality to pass for humans physically, never mind having the advanced programming required to match our intelligence.”

Amanda finally got the dial to click on, the stovetop warming to life with a low buzz, and she adjusted the kettle over the heat.

“It’s extraordinary, really. The technology that allows you to exist was developed in an extremely short period of time. I’m actually very close with the main contributor; an old mentor of mine whom I studied under at the academy. I was told she created you personally.”

“Really?” Awe from Akko, of course. Amanda rummaged through the cupboards on autopilot, grabbing the rest of the tea supplies.

“Indeed. You were one of the first of the newest model, and a personal gift to me.” Amanda could hear the warm fondness in Cavendish’s voice. “She always did regard me with affection.”

“Are there a lot of androids like me?”

It was barely perceptible, but Cavendish’s voice was strained when she spoke again. “Yes. The Alpha version was the generation before yours, and with the introduction of your model the total population numbers at roughly point o-five percent of the world’s. I was told the initial excitement for their release was global, though it had died down considerably by the time I returned Earthside.”

“Wow!” Oblivious to Cavendish’s growing reluctance, Akko spoke with barely contained excitement. “That’s still a lot, right? I can’t believe it… it must be so nice on Earth. It sounds like everyone loves us!”

Amanda found herself focusing with laser intensity on the kettle, shoulders hunched as she prayed for it to boil. Something in her gut already told her where this conversation was going, and the way Cavendish held back wasn’t making her any less uneasy.

“That’s… not entirely true.”

“Huh? Why not?”

“There were complications with the initial integration. There was excitement in the beginning, granted, but over time the Alpha’s reception was met with … unexpected backlash. The robots were not quite equipped to be _human_ enough. They were regarded uncanny as a whole.”

“Uncanny..?”

“I mean no disrespect. It is unfortunate, but when the Alphas attempted to blend and serve their function, the common reaction upon humans’ first meeting their mechanical companions often resulted in…” Cavendish paused, choosing her words delicately. “…rather extreme aversion.”

The kettle shrieked. Everyone jumped at the shrill noise, and Amanda swore viciously.

“Fuck, sorry.” Grabbing a towel, Amanda lifted it off the stove, dumping the boiling water over the bag. She clutched Cavendish’s mug tightly in an effort to control her trembling, the crude handle biting into her fingers.

Replacing the kettle and clicking off the stove, Amanda set the mug down roughly on the table before seating herself back down next to Akko. She’d sloshed a bit, but Cavendish didn’t comment on her agitated state, merely accepting the towel Amanda handed her.

“Diana… did you bring me here because you didn’t want me?”

Amanda hadn’t been able to look either of them in the eyes, because really, how was she any better than the jerks on Earth? But at Akko’s small voice she snapped her head up, locking eyes with Cavendish. For a split second, Amanda saw a similar shadow of guilt mirrored in her eyes.

It was the first time Amanda felt like she shared any understanding with the Captain. As she looked away, Cavendish’s expression softened, as she leaned towards Akko across the table and putting her hand down as though to bridge the gap between them while she spoke.

“No. Not because of that. The reason I brought you here, Akko, was because I felt this was where you were needed.” Diana tipped her head at Amanda with a small smile, without averting her gaze. “Though I don’t suppose I realized how _much_ you were actually needed at the time.”

“Bullshit, I was doing fine.” Yeah, that didn’t even sound convincing to her. Amanda wrapped an arm around Akko’s shoulders, giving her a comforting squeeze. Akko leaned into the touch, seemingly grateful for the support.

Amanda might have understood why the bastards back on Earth were uncomfortable with robots, but that didn’t mean she didn’t want to punch everyone who ever thought that way in the fucking face. Herself included. Amanda didn’t know what she’d do without Akko at this point. Probably something dumb, like that time she’d set her clothes on fire.

Akko giggled quietly, as if reading her mind, and Amanda wiggled her eyebrows conspiratorially until Akko pulled away, smacking Amanda good-naturedly.

Diana watched the exchange with a mildly bemused air. “Yes, you two make good companions… much more compatible than I expected.”

“Well,” Amanda drawled, grinning lopsidedly, “I am famously easy to get along with.”

Akko snorted, and Cavendish choked on her tea before she managed to recover herself with a polite cough.

“Of course. Now, how about another round?”

“Yeah! But no more poker, please… how about rummy? Humans versus robots!”

“So us versus Cavendish?”

At that Cavendish smirked slyly, already shuffling the deck. “Well, at least this way it will finally be a challenge.”

***

“Amanda come on, it’s almost time!”

Strolling out onto the porch, Amanda dropped next to Akko with a grunt, glancing at the watch propped up carefully on a folding chair.

Back when Amanda had told her about Christmas, Akko had insisted on celebrating. They’d exchanged gifts— Amanda had given her a booklet of drawings she made showing different animals on Earth. Akko one-upped her by using the extra paint from the gym to create a map of the stars on the ceiling, staying up the entire night before to get it done in time while still keeping it a surprise.

(She’d fallen asleep later in front of the small fire Amanda had built, much to her amusement. Akko drooled when she slept, and it was pretty adorable.)

After that, Akko had pestered her until Amanda told her about every holiday she knew, determined to celebrate them all. So here they were New Year’s Eve, wrapped up in blankets and camped out on the steps as they watched the time tick up to midnight.

Only twenty minutes left on the clock.

“Here.” Amanda held out a steaming mug. “I heated up the last of the fresh milk, with some honey, Honey.”

Akko giggled at the wordplay, reaching out appreciatively to cup the drink in her hands, nursing her frozen fingers against the warmth of the mug. She took a sip, eyes widening. “This is really good!”

Amanda smiled, pleased. “Thanks. It’s my mom’s recipe; she used to make it for me sometimes, when I couldn’t fall asleep.”

“It must remind you of home.”

“Yeah.” Amanda smiled fondly at the memories, looking down at the steam rising off her drink. “Before I got... We all used to get together, for New Years, the whole family crammed into Grandmother’s penthouse in New York to celebrate. It was always so crowded with all my cousins, and as the night went on and the champagne ran out everyone would pack around the windows to try and get the best view of the ball dropping. It’s massive you know, all silver and sparkly…” Amanda waved a hand in the air, trying to sketch out the scene that she saw in her mind as the details came rushing back to her. “One time, my aunties were even more tipsy than usual, so my cheeks were completely covered in lipstick by the end of the night. I had to use a dish sponge to scrub it all off.”

Akko snickered, and Amanda shot her a look. “Hey, you laugh now, but I’d like to see how you’d survive the swarm.”

“Sorry, but that’s just hilarious to picture! Anyways, you don’t sound too upset about it.”

Amanda huffed out a laugh, shaking her head. “Nah, it doesn’t bother me. It’s pretty funny in hindsight.”

“Did you get swarmed like that every year?”

“Well, yeah. Tradition never dies.” Amanda shrugged, taking a sip. She didn’t miss Akko’s questioning expression. “Guessing you don’t know about it?”

Akko smiled, shaking her head.

“Right, so,” Amanda paused, trying to think about the best way to explain it. “With normal people, what you do is after you watch the ball drop on TV or whatever, at midnight, you’re supposed to kiss your date if you have one, someone special to you that you want to share the New Year with. Like a fresh start, I guess.”

“My family did it differently though. We just went around smooching all each other’s cheeks in a big herd. I didn’t even know it was weird until I was talking about it with some kids at school, fuckin’ traumatized them when I couldn’t explain it right.”

“Aaaah oh no!” Akko’s face was twisted in a mixture of disgust and delight. She grinned in sympathy.

Amanda grimaced. “Yeah, it was pretty awkward.”

“It sounds like a lot of fun though.” Akko shifted in place, hiking the blanket up higher over her shoulders. “Spending time with your family.”

“I haven’t been back in awhile,” Amanda admitted, scuffing her feet over the dirt. “Even before I was sent up here, I stopped going to family events. It was hard to be around my relatives as I got older; they didn’t exactly approve of my life choices.”

“I don’t feel bad about it that much anymore,” Amanda went on, surprised to realize that it was true. It had hurt, at first, being turned away by most of her family, but she could at least think back on the good times without wanting to throw herself down a sewer. “I guess I remember it with more nostalgia than anything else. It was nice, catching up and telling stories about the year before.”

Akko hummed quietly, a thoughtful expression on her face. The two lapsed into comfortable silence, staring out into the dark. The porch light flickered and shut off, the sensor too far up to register their sitting forms.

As her eyes adjusted to the near-total blackness, Amanda could just barely make out Akko’s features in the dim glow of the watch display. Akko caught her eye and smiled, face soft in the muted green light.

Five minutes left.

“What was your favorite part of this year?” Amanda spoke in a low voice, not wanting to break the stillness around them.

“Hmm, I’m not sure. There were so many good things… but I think if I had to choose my favorite part, it would be the day we met.”

Amanda spluttered, inhaling her drink, and Akko pounded her back in alarm as she hunched over coughing.

“S-seriously? I almost killed you.” Amanda finally choked out.  

“Geez Amanda, be careful! Or you really will be the death of me.”

Amanda squashed the urge to roll her eyes, waiting for an explination.

Akko twined her arms thoughtfully around her legs, staring up into the sky, and Amanda was suddenly aware of how close Akko had shuffled over during her coughing fit.

“I know I told you about the red lady. But I didn’t remember any of that until weeks later.” She shifted, drawing her knees in. “I didn’t know anything when I first woke up; nothing had kicked in yet. It just felt like I was waiting for something. And then…”

Akko smiled, turning her head to look at Amanda. Her eyes seemed impossibly dark, flecked with light, like wine through a crystallized glass. Amanda wondered how she was just noticing now. Probably because their faces were so close.

“I looked up, and you were there. You were scared, but I didn’t know that, and your eyes were so wide and green, and your face was framed against the sky by your hair, pink and orange and messy…” Her eyes crinkled in the corners as she laughed.

“When I saw you, I didn’t feel like anything was missing anymore.”

As Akko continued to look at her, Amanda felt her stomach twist, a weird buzzy feeling working its way up the back of her neck and tingling in tips of her ears. She took a sip from her mug, averting her gaze. “Well. I guess it’s alright when you put it like that.”

“And once you got over your robot-rage, the day got even better!”

“Still not funny,” Amanda grumbled without malice. She grudgingly allowed Akko to give her a shoulder bump, scowling into her milk with all the dignity she could muster.

“Oh! One minute left!”

Despite herself, Amanda found that she was leaning forward eagerly, Akko’s enthusiasm contagious as they watched the seconds tick down.

“Hey Amanda?”

“Yeah?”

_10…_

_9…_

_8…_

“I’m really glad I met you.”

_7…_

_6…_

_5…_

Amanda felt Akko’s hand as it settled next to hers, their fingers brushing.

_4…_

_3…_

“Glad I’m stuck with you too.”

_2…_

She wouldn’t trade this for anything.

_1..._

“Happy New Year, Akko!”

Amanda lifted her mug high in celebration, not caring if any spilled, and she turned with a wide grin to toast Akko into the new year.

She felt something soft on her cheek, and before she could register what the unidentified pressure was Akko had already pulled back, the breeze from her movement ghosting over Amanda’s suddenly very warm face.

“Happy New Year, Amanda!” Laughing, Akko clinked their mugs together, not noticing Amanda’s stunned immobility. Amanda jolted out of her stupor as Akko lowered her drink, having finished it off in one go. “Woo! My first New Year’s tradition!”

Akko leapt up, thrusting her empty mug into the sky. “It’s gonna be a great year!”

The lights snapped on at her movement, and Amanda blinked in the brightness, even more disoriented in the sudden glare.

“Whoa.” Akko wobbled in place, obviously dizzy from standing up so fast. Amanda looked at her concernedly.

“Hey -uh- maybe we should get to bed.” Jesus, had her voice just cracked? The fuck?

“Yeeaah I think that’s a good idea…” Akko sneezed, looking down as if just noticing how dusty she was from sitting outside so long. “I’m gonna shower first, though.”

“Okey dokey.” Amanda cringed internally at her words —where were all these jitters coming from?— before raising her mug awkwardly. “I’m just, uh, going to finish this up out here, you go on ahead.”

Amanda didn’t get it. The hell was up with her, all fizzy like a shaken up Coke?

As Akko disappeared inside, Amanda slowly brought her free hand up to her face, settling her fingers lightly over the spot where Akko had kissed her cheek.

She tossed in her cot restlessly later that night, before finally giving up on getting to sleep. Sitting up, she looked cautiously over to where Akko faced the wall, snoring away, before quietly pulling out her journal. She clicked on her flashlight under the scratchy blanket so she could see as she wrote:

_ Year 5, Month 1 _

_ Day 1 _

_Fuck._

***

_ Year 5, Month 2 _

_ Day 15 _

_I think I’m in love with Akko._

_Damn it, I’m still not one hundred percent convinced that that’s what it even is, but it’s been going on for way too fucking long to be some school-yard crush. Who the fuck even came up with that term, its dumb as shit ~~-and I feel childish enough about this already, I barely even know what to say anym—~~_

_I haven’t talked to her about ~~the kiss~~ what happened on New Year’s, but she hasn’t said anything, so I guess it was just meant to be like family or something? I mean, she’s pretty much family at this point, right, like a ~~sister~~ ~~cousin~~ ~~mot **FUCK no**~~ really _ really _good friend that **might as well** be family. ~~Even though she’s way too attractive to be~~ Yeah._

_Speaking of holidays, Akko was really jazzed for Valentine’s Day yesterday (her words, not mine.) It was ~~sweet~~ ~~cute~~ funny how excited she got at the idea of making crummy paper hearts and sticking them around the room. She made me a special one with red paint and lace and stuck it to my shirt with glue ~~and she got paint on her cheeks~~ ~~and her hair was falling into her eyes, I was so close that I could have just reached up and~~ and made a fucking mess everywhere. I swear some of these stains are never coming out of the floorboards._

_~~I keep sketching out her face, the way she moves... I almost gave it to her as a Valentine’s present, but I chickened out. Besides, I can’t capture her right at all.~~ _

_~~I’m such a fucking mess~~ _

_We didn’t really do anything special, aside from decorating the place. I told her I wasn’t too big on celebrating the whole Valentine’s Day thing._

_~~I still let myself be roped in though, I will really do anything she~~ _

_~~Although recently I’ve been reconsidering how I feel about the whole V-day idea, now that I have someone who~~ _

_~~This entry is a trainwreck, why can’t you just keep it on the down-low until you get a fucking grip~~ _

_I give up. I am just. Completely, royally fucked. ~~– unfortunately not literally, though I wouldn’t mind NO. **GOD. DAMMIT.**~~_

***

Sprawled on her back, Amanda absentmindedly tossed the soccer ball over her head, catching it again before it hit her face.

 _Toss, catch, toss, catch, toss_ … the motion was oddly soothing, and only her wariness of getting a black eye kept her awake.

“Hey Amanda, where did you put the milk?”

Akko ducked her head around the corner quizzically, a carton of eggs cradled in her arms.

Hell yes, pancake time. Toss, catch, toss, catch… “We used it all, remember? We still have the UHT stuff left if you want to use that.”

Akko made a face. “Ugh, is that why the pancakes have been tasting so bad lately? I thought it was just your cooking.”

“Fuck you, my cooking is perfect.”

“Riiight…” Akko sighed, dragging the table over to the stove and plunking down her materials. “I’ll just use water.”

“Gross.” Toss, catch, toss…

“You’d think they’d give us more milk,” Akko grumbled. “We keep using it up so fast.”

Catch. “I get the feeling that even Cavendish can’t smuggle up everything. And I doubt she’s told anyone she’s supplying for two.”

“Why not?”

“Dude, I’m supposed to be in solitary. That means no contact with anyone from Earth besides Cavendish and her crew.” Amanda snorted. “They’d have a fit if they found out you were here.”

“Okay, but, do I really count? I’ve never lived on Earth.”

Amanda craned her neck to look back at Akko, who was dumping the ingredients into a bowl. “You were made there, weren’t you? That whole memory with that room—”

“I’m not supposed to remember that.”

“But you do anyways, because fuck the rules… Aw look at you, fightin’ the system.” Amanda grinned lopsidedly. “What a rebel.”

Akko snorted, rolling her eyes. “Yep, that’s why I’m up here with you.”

“See, that’s the thing.” Amanda flipped over to her stomach, resting her folded arms on top of the ball. “If you were actually shipped up here for a crime, it would be to one of the empty rocks, not with me.”

“How many people are like you?”

“Babe I’m the _only_ one like me.”

“Stuck in space jail, dummy.”

“’Dunno.” Amanda shrugged, idly watching how hard Akko concentrated on stirring, pausing every once in awhile to lick the batter off her fingers. It should have been gross, but honestly it was kind of adorable. “A lot? There aren’t many big prisons left on Earth.”

“Why not?”

“Management and safety. It’s easier to pay one crew to visit a bunch of isolated criminals than it is to pay a bunch of people to contain a bunch’a filthy murderers in one place. Or at least that’s the government’s spiel. Load of shit if you ask me; I think they just don’t want to deal with us.”

“That's such an unfair way to treat you.”

Amanda sighed, dropping her head into her arms. “Yeah, we went over this. It sucks, but at least we’re taken care of.”

“No, this isn’t okay! They’re just abandoning you out here.”

“We’re criminals, what’dya expect?”

“You’re not a criminal!”

“I was just talking in gen—”

The bowl slammed on the table. “It doesn’t matter! No one should be left out here, knowing that they’re all alone. It’s cruel!”

Blowing her hair out of her eyes, Amanda scrutinized Akko’s face. Akko defending her wasn’t new. But she seemed especially riled up today. “Why?”

Akko spluttered at her bluntness, twin spots of red on her cheeks. “Because… how are you supposed to prove you’re not bad if no one even wants you around?”

Lightbulb moment. Amanda braced herself on her forearms so Akko could see her face clearly. “This isn’t just about how shitty the justice system is, is it.”

Akko let out a small sigh, deflating. “No,” she admitted. “Last night I was thinking about what Diana said about how the androids are treated. I guess it got stuck in my head. I just don’t get how some people can hate a whole group just—just because they can.”

Amanda wasn’t really sure how to reply to that. She stared down at the ball, rolling it a little underneath her hands. Akko went back to cooking, brooding silently as she poured the batter.

“I had no idea you were thinking about it so much,” Amanda finally said. “Or that you felt so strongly about stuff back on Earth.”

The batter sizzled in the pan.

“People are people,” Akko spoke quietly, watching the stove. “No matter where they are. Or even if no one thinks they’re actually people. I can’t just. _Not_ care about what’s happening. To everyone.”

Crap, What was she supposed to say to that? 

She watched as Akko bustled around while Amanda struggled to figure out how to continue. Because dammit, Akko needed to hear _something_.

“I don’t really know much about the robot situation,” she finally started, slowly. “I only know what Cavendish told us. But. There are other people that think like you. At least about how we do solitary. Even during my trial, there were people camped outside the courthouse, protesting how unfair it was.”

As Amanda spoke, Akko continued cooking, flipping the lopsided pancaked onto a plate, the pops and hisses from the griddle punctuating Amanda’s words in the otherwise silent room.

“Cavendish told me more about it, before she left this last time… apparently it’s getting pretty fucking nasty down Earthside. I gave up a long time ago, honestly, on getting off this place, but there are people down there still fighting to fix things. To make the system better for everyone.” Amanda sat up, getting herself into a criss-cross position and settling the ball in her lap.

“And I know that people will start to feel the same way about androids. It might take time, but you’re right about one thing; people care. Even if they can’t really do anything about it, people will still fight for what’s right.”

Amanda pulled a face, thinking back over what she just said. “Shit, that sounded a lot cornier out loud, sorry.”

“No, no… thank you. It was good to hear.” Akko flashed her a small smile, pouring the last batch on the stove and setting the bowl aside. “Diana told you about the protests, huh?”

“Yeah, she likes to bring me news.”

“I think she’s fighting too. To make things better.”

“You think?” Amanda could feel the doubt showing on her face as Akko clicked off the stove, bringing over the loaded plate and setting it on the floor between them before sitting down herself. “She never struck me as the type to disobey orders.”

“She brought me here, didn’t she?”

“Touché. Toss a fork over, would ya?”

As she snagged the offered utensil, Amanda mulled it over. Cavendish _was_ always bringing Amanda a bunch of extra junk. Maybe it was her own little way of rebelling.

Amanda dug in, cramming the food into her mouth and chewing thoughtfully. Cavendish being on her side… who would’ve thought?

“Huh. These pancakes are actually way better than mine.”

“Told ya!”

***

Amanda settled back against the washing machine, letting the rumbling work its way into her stiff back and shoulders.

Akko was out back, hanging the clothes to dry. Amanda never really understood why they never stuck a dryer up here, but at least it got Akko out of the Block. It would be a little while before the stuff in the wash needed to be brought out. She had time.

Glancing furtively down the hall –just in case— she slowly pulled the book out her back pocket, with its carefully glued-together cover.

**_Artificial Companion Instruction Manual, Model 13.3.2 v2 (Beta)_ **

Okay. She was doing this.

Before she could change her mind, she quickly thumbed open the pages, skimming through the introduction:

_Welcome to your new artificial companion! In this manual, you will find instructions for taking full advantage of your A.C., in addition to detailed proper care and treatment techniques designed to ensure maximum performance. While owning an A.C. may seem like a monumental step, we are proud to state that we have streamlined the care process to be less intensive than any common household pet, while still giving you a companion with the intelligence to match you in any task! Their programming insures that, while the android is designed to learn and interact in a nearly identical fashion to humans, their primary function is to ensure the satisfaction and happiness of their owner above all else, in a safe and docile manner._

Nope, this was too fucked up.

Amanda banged her head back against the washer, growling in frustration. This was stupid. She just wanted to see if it said whether Akko liked chicks!

_…primary function is to ensure the satisfaction and happiness of their owner above all else…_

Amanda buried her face in her hands, rubbing her forehead. The more she thought about it, the more she realized she didn’t know anything about how Akko worked at _all_. Machines could only follow specific instructions, right? There was data… in the circuits… and somehow it told the other bits what to do?

And if Akko was always being told to make Amanda happy…

Holy shit she was a horrible person. No _wonder_ Akko forgave her after Amanda practically killed her, she had no _choice_ and now Akko was stuck with her with literally nowhere else to go, and all Amanda could focus on was.

It would be so fucked up to get into anything with Akko. It was probably so fucked up even to _like_ Akko. If Amanda ever told her, wouldn’t it be basically be forcing Akko to reciprocate?

This is why she hadn’t wanted to read the fucking thing. It was just so much easier to ask Akko about herself than try and puzzle it all out on her own.

Pff. But like she’d seriously be able to bring up this particular topic.

_‘Hey Akko, I was reading through your manual, and I saw that your primary function was to make me happy. Wanna bang?’_

“FUCK!”

“Amanda?”

“ _Holyshitfuck_!” Amanda yelped, jolting back against the washing machine with a bang as she scrambled to hide the manual. “Akko. For shit’s sake. You scared the everloving _crap_ out of me.”

“Sorry! I didn’t realize you were tuned out.” Akko shuffled her feet, shifting so that the milk crate they used as a hamper was balanced on her hip. “Have you been sitting here the whole time?”

“Uh…” She twitched as the machine buzzed loudly behind her, rumbles grinding to a halt. “Yeah.”

Flipping the crate over, Akko dropped it to the ground with a dull thud. Sitting down, she arranged her skirt neatly over her knees, looking at Amanda expectantly.

Um. Amanda jerked a thumb over her shoulder. “Laundry’s done.”

“Yup!” Akko leaned forward, resting her elbows on her knees and cradling her chin in her hands. “It can wait. What’s wrong?”

“Who said something was wrong?”

Akko looked unimpressed.

“I was just zoning out, that’s it.”

Amanda fidgeted. Akko was being uncharacteristically quiet, and her unwavering stare was incredibly uncomfortable.

“Is this some new interrogation tactic?”

Silence.

“Okay, okay!” Good god. “Sheesh, it’s no big deal, it’s just…”

Amanda felt her mind glitch. What the fuck was she supposed to say?

Wordlessly, she pulled the manual out from where she’d stuffed it underneath her leg. Akko’s eyebrows shot up with interest.

“You were reading my instructions?”

“Not really. I tried, but.” Amanda’s heel was bouncing in agitation, sending small shudders through the floor. “I couldn’t. It’s fucking awful.”

Surprise flashed across Akko’s face. “Is the manual inaccurate?”

“The hell?”

“The instructions. Did the manual not give the proper information?”

“Wh—no? I don’t know, I couldn’t get past the intro. They fucking— they make you sound like nothing more than a machine.”

“I… am a machine?”

Amanda felt herself floundering, thrown off by Akko’s incomprehension. “No, like…” She gestured uselessly, before letting her hands flop back into her lap with a quiet sigh. “It’s written like you’re just something to be used. Not like you’re a person.”

“Oh.” Akko looked slightly taken aback. “Really? I never noticed.”

Amanda shuddered. “It sounded like… how I thought when I first met you.”

“Fuck the manual then.”

Amanda blinked.

“No, seriously.” Akko shuffled off the crate, dropping beside Amanda with a plop and tugging the book out of her hand. “If it really sounds like that, then it’s wrong. You don’t think I’m just a machine, do you?”

“No, of course n—”

“Good, because neither do I. I’m a person and this thing sucks.”

“But—” Amanda was sure she looked like a fish, gaping at Akko like this. “You used to always tell me to read the manual.”

“I mean, it’s probably good to know the information?” Akko had been idly skimming through the pages, but now she made a face, snapping the book shut. “But you’re right. I guess I was just so used to how it was, I never realized how creepy it sounded.”

“Aren’t you worried about your programming?” Amanda blurted, then immediately tensed. Smooth. “I uh ummm. The whole thing about how you’re supposed to make me happy no matter what?”

Akko hmmed, narrowing her eyes at Amanda. “Am I making you happy now?”

“Hell no. I feel like I’m about to puke.”

“Ew! Gross. Well, there you go,” she said, laughing as she prodded teasingly at Amanda’s stomach with the manual. “I’m not my programming. It’s part of me, but we can all change and make our own decisions, right? I mean, you changed your mind about how I was.”

Swatting the book away, Amanda had to admit that Akko had a really good point. And for shit’s sake, Amanda should have realized that the book was a load of crap as soon as it mentioned the ‘A.C.’ being _docile_. That was the _last_ thing anyone’d describe Akko as.

“Hey, uh. Thanks for that. It really cleared my head.”

“No problem!” Akko grinned, and a teasing glint appeared in her eye. “Anything to please you, O my Master.”

Suppressing the urge to grin, Amanda arranged her features into a mock-stoic expression. “You have indeed. For this, I will allow you to hang the rest of the laundry. Including my soggy underwear.”

Amanda laughed as Akko gasped, fluttering her eyelashes in the most sarcastic way possible, before nudging her with an elbow. “No but seriously, everything’s all wet, we should probably take it out.”

Amanda stood, offering her hand which Akko eagerly accepted, and then got to work loading up the crate.

“Hey,” Akko said a while later, as they were pinning the last of the blankets to the line, “you know you can talk to me when something’s bothering you, right? I just want you to know I’ll listen, no matter what.”

Amanda swallowed, internal calm broken by a spike of nerves. She was almost tempted to say something... but listening to Amanda’s issues was a _lot_ different from getting a spontaneous love confession. Akko wouldn't be forced into anything, sure, but the fact that Akko could choose to reject her was almost as scary to think about.

If Amanda screwed up, telling Akko when she didn't feel the same way, she’d drive a huge wedge between them. It already took them so long to make this much progress.

Fuck that. No way. She wasn't going to risk being left alone up here again.

“Sure. I’ll remember that.” Forcing a smile, Amanda nodded, clipping the last clothespin in place as she glanced around the blanket at Akko’s earnest expression. “As long as you promise you’ll never drag a confession out of me by being quiet like that again, it was unnerving as hell.”

“Okay! Thank god, being quiet suuucked!”

***

“Heeeyyy… _Amanda_ …~”

Amanda shifted in her cot, lifting the open journal from her face as she felt something poking at her foot. She squinted into the sun, blinking her eyes until Akko’s silhouette swam into focus.

“Wassup.” She slurred the words through a yawn, arching her back to try and work out some of the stiffness. She must have fallen asleep.

“You’ve been out her for awhile. I wanted to make sure that you were doing okay.”

Amanda propped herself up on her elbow, squinting at her suspiciously. Akko blinked at her innocently.

“What’d you do.” Eyes widening, Akko shifted cagily, trying to play it off as a casual movement.

“Nothing! Nothing’s going on.”

Amanda snorted. Akko was such a terrible liar. “Seriously, should I be worried about something?”

“Nope! Everything’s fine…” Sensing that Amanda wasn’t buying it, Akko quickly changed the subject. “So, what’cha working on there?”

Oh crap. “Uhhh… just journal stuff.” No way Amanda was going to admit that she'd been writing about Akko just now. Again.

“About what?”

“What’s got you so curious?”

“Why are you being so defensive?” Akko countered, and Amanda gritted her teeth.

“Because it’s private?”

“Why? What is it?”

“Oh my fucking god, why are you asking so many questions?”

“Because you’ve been acting really weird!” Akko burst out, unable to contain it anymore. Amanda stiffened. “For like, the past month.”

Damn it. She’d thought she was being subtle. “No I haven’t.”

“Yeah you have! Like really jumpy. And you’ve been spending a lot of time writing outdoors.”

“I like the sunshine.”

“Amanda, you burn like a marshmallow in a bonfire.” Amanda grimaced, unable to argue with that one. Even now she could feel herself crisping. It was going to be a real pain in the ass later. Why the fuck did she let herself fall asleep?

Although, admittedly, the dream she’d been having was pretty nice…

“Amanda?” She blinked, snapping back into the present. “You’re kinda staring… are you feeling alright?” Akko sat down next to her, leaning to peer into her face, and Amanda stifled the urge to bolt. “Your face is super red… you  _really_ got a lot of sun.”

“Probably.” Stupid motherfucking fair skin, showing every single fucking blush.

A weighty silence settled over them. Akko sat quietly with her hands in her lap, seemingly fascinated with how her fingers twisted themselves together. Amanda rubbed at her nose with a small sniff. Her hands were starting to sweat in the oppressive stillness. She tried to speak a few times, but her tongue was stuck to the roof of her mouth, which was as dry as her mind. Things hadn’t been this awkward between them since they'd met, and Amanda had no idea why things were suddenly so tense.

Had she accidentally given something away?

“Sooo,” Akko finally said, drawing the word out slowly and looking at Amanda from the corner of her eye, “you’re still not going to tell me why you’re acting so weird?”

Shit, back to this.

“I’m not acting weird.” Forcing herself to remain cool, she slowly lowered herself down, placing the journal over her eyes with feigned nonchalance before lacing her fingers behind her head.

“Oh. Okay.”

Akko went quiet again, and Amanda felt a doubtful knot form in her chest. Maybe she should just—

The cot jolted violently, and Amanda shouted as the book was torn from her face, paper stinging her cheeks. She caught a glimpse of Akko stumbling to her feet before the frame tipped, sending Amanda tumbling to the ground in an undignified heap of ripped cloth and flailing limbs.

“What the FUCK!” Amanda scrambled up in a panic, nearly tripping over the busted cot. “AKKO!”

“If you won’t tell me, I’ll find out myself!” Akko shouted over her shoulder, journal clutched in her hand as she ran back to the Block.

“Akko, you ASS, give it back!”

Sprinting as fast as she could, Amanda skidded onto the porch, grabbing a post to whip herself around just in time to slam into the door that Akko banged shut behind her. “Seriously Akko, not cool!” She rattled the knob, pushing against the unmoving wood. “The Block doesn’t have any fucking locks dumbass, quit holding the door and let me in!”

The window. Slamming her fist one more time against the door for good measure, Amanda dashed off the porch, feet sliding in the dirt as she swerved around the corner.

“The fu—” The shutters were thrown wide open, Akko already mostly up the wall with the journal clenched tight between her teeth.

“Goddammit,” Amanda swore, looking through the window to see a chair wedged underneath the doorknob across the room. How the hell had Akko moved so fast?

Cursing, Amanda hoisted herself onto the ledge, fingers gripping at the cracks as she started to scale the rough wall. She could feel her arms straining as she climbed, desperation making her scrabble up faster than she’d ever managed before.  Amanda had no idea how Akko would react to some of the stuff she had put in there, but there was no way in hell that she was going to let Akko read it to find out.

 _Now_ she regretted including some of the racier bits.

Hauling herself into a crouch on the roof, Amanda leapt forward, hurtling herself at Akko, who whirled around in alarm.

Amanda thudded into her, closing a hand around the journal as the momentum sent them staggering.

“Give—it—back!” Amanda grunted, fighting to pull it from Akko’s iron grip.

“No!” Akko clutched it closer to her chest, trying to twist away. “What are you hiding?”

“I can’t tell you!”

“Why not?!” Akko wrenched herself away, stumbling back, and with a jolt of alarm Amanda realized just how close to the edge they had gotten.

“Ak—”

“No! Listen to me! I know it’s hard for you to say when somethings wrong, but you’ve always told me eventually. But now. I know you’re keeping something really big from me, and it's scaring me that we don’t even talk about anything anymore… you’ll barely look at me when you comment on the weather!”

“Hot as shit, like always, Akko shut up for a second and mov—”

“You’re not listening!” Amanda had been creeping towards Akko, but froze as she stepped back without taking her eyes off Amanda, roof creaking ominously.

Akko’s shoulders slumped. “I really miss you. I just want to know why you don’t like me anymore.”

Amanda groaned, guilt riddling her chest. Fucking hell, how did Akko do this to her. “You id— no, I swear, that’s not it.”

“Then what is it?”

“I can’t—” Amanda let out a frustrated sigh, clenching and unclenching her hands as she tried to figure out what to say. “I like you, I swear. I’m sorry I’ve been acting weird. I’ll stop, I promise, but I really need you to give me that back. Right. Now.”

Akko’s face clouded over.

Shit.

“No. I need to understand,” she said softly, shifting like she was about to turn away, the uneven tiles sliding underneath her weight.

“Akko, wait—!” In slow motion, Amanda watched with horror as Akko slipped, toppling over the edge...

Without thinking, Amanda lunged, and then she was flying through the air, arms wrapping around Akko’s waist and pulling her in, twisting to curl Akko into her chest as she squeezed her eyes shut.

It felt like forever before they struck the ground, Amanda’s back screaming at the impact and the force of Akko’s body crushing her own. Grunting, she tightened her hold, shielding Akko as they bounced across the uneven ground, until, finally, their momentum ran out, and they tumbled to a shaky stop.

Amanda coughed weakly, feeling her muscles protest at the motion. Damn. Everything hurt.

That was, officially, the most stupid-ass decision she’d made this week.

A small groan reminded her that she was still squeezing Akko, and she hastily released her death grip. The fall had left Amanda flat on her back, Akko pressed down on top of her, and as Amanda let go Akko lifted her head to meet Amanda's eyes.

Amanda felt her breath catch. Their faces were centimeters apart, and Akko’s eyes were the only thing she could see. Even through her fall-induced haze Amanda knew that she was blushing, heartbeat erratic in her chest. She felt like she was drowning.

“I…” Akko whispered, shifting against her, and Amanda bit her tongue in an effort to keep quiet. Akko rolled her weight back against Amanda’s hips, sitting up slowly.

“I… I stILL HAVE THE JOURNAL!” Akko shouted, holding the book up triumphantly.

She. What?

“Fucking seriously?” Amanda stared at her, flabbergasted. “We just fell off the roof. And _that’s_ what you’re focused on.”

Akko pshed, flapping a hand. “It was only one story.”

“I think my ribs are bruised.”

“You fell off the gym last week and you were totally fine.”

“I wasn’t holding onto you though!” Fruitlessly, she struggled to sit up, pawing for the book as Akko held it smugly out of reach. Goddamn, Akko was heavy, what the fuck.

Realizing Akko had her pinned, Amanda fell back against the ground with a groan. “This is bullshit, I just saved your life.”

“I would have been fine. But,” Akko’s voice softened, and she lowered the book in front of her. “Thank you. For coming after me.”

A beat went by. “I’m still totally reading this though.”

“Wait!” A stab of alarm shot through Amanda, and she darted out a hand, grabbing one of Akko’s wrists. “Just—hold on— agggghhhh, fuck it.”

The fall must have rattled something lose in her head, but suddenly she didn’t care what happened next. She already fucked up by not saying anything, so dammit, at least if she was honest and Akko rejected her, Akko wouldn’t be the one hurting.

On the bright side, her bruised feelings would go nicely with her fucking aching body.

Akko’s eyes widened as Amanda started struggling to lift herself up again. “What are you—”

“I didn’t want to tell you, okay?” Amanda muttered, cutting her off. “Too embarrassing and pathe— Nevermind. I don’t really care anymore, and since you’re too stubborn to give me the damn book… I might as well tell you to your face.”

Shocked, Akko didn’t resist as Amanda pushed at her hips, sliding Akko back and sitting up slowly until their faces were a breath apart. How the hell was it that, even after this whole adrenaline inducing nightmare, Amanda still felt butterflies in her stomach when she met Akko’s eyes?

Or maybe they were electric eels. “You really want to know why I’ve been acting weird?”

Akko nodded, a determined look on her face. Amanda exhaled slowly. “Okay.”

Amanda leaned in… and kissed her.

It was like dying and going to fucking heaven.

“Oh.” Akko’s face was stained scarlet when Amanda pulled away, her eyes widening as she put the pieces together. “Ohhhhh!”

“…yup.” Amanda glanced away self-consciously, bringing a hand up to let her knuckles brush against her lips.

“So…” A smile began to tug at the corners of Akko’s mouth. “The reason you’ve been acting funny… is because… that’s it?”

Amanda glared at her. “What do you mean, ‘that’s it?’ I’ve been agonizing over being in love with you for _months_!”

Shrieking, Akko flung herself forward, tackling Amanda in a hug that nearly sent them toppling over again. “You don’t hate me!”

“Wha—of course not you dork, weren’t you listening? Wait, wait, hold on…” Amanda pried Akko off of her, holding her back in order to get a good look at her face. “So I just basically confessed my relentless crush by planting one on you and you’re- just rolling with-  seriously I was expecting a different reaction here.”

Akko’s face, if possible, flushed even deeper. “I uh- actually, the thing is— do you remember when you taught me to kick better?”

Amanda quirked an eyebrow, completely nonplussed by the change in subject. “What about it?”

“See, back then—when you showed me—and and you kicked into the net— _youlookedreallyhotandandImaybesortakindastartedgettingacrushonyou._ ” Akko let out in a rush, face scrunching as she spoke, like she was bracing for impact.

Amanda couldn't have been caught more off guard if she'd fallen off the roof again. Her brain ticked sluggishly as it tried to process the words, and she sat back, stunned. Akko… wasn’t rejecting her. Akko apparently like, _liked_ her since before Amanda even…

Slowly, a lopsided grin spread across her face, and she felt her heart kick up a notch. “So what you’re saying… is that I should kiss you again.”

Amanda wiggled her eyebrows as seductively as she could, and Akko erupted in a fit of laughter that Amanda could feel the humming through her as Akko leaned in for another kiss, the contact sending bursts of fireworks through Amanda’s ribcage and up her to her face and turning up the corners of her mouth against Akko’s and oh god, this was real, this was fucking _real_ and it was so much better than everything she imagined.

“Do you know—how long—I’ve been wanting to do this?” Amanda growled, twisting to plant little kisses along Akko’s cheeks, her jaw, the tips of her ears, and in response Akko tangled her hands into Amanda’s hair, pulling her back up against her mouth. Amanda started giggling, shoulders shaking as her body rocked into Akko’s.

Akko pulled back, a breathless smile on her face. “What’s so funny?”

“I can’t believe,” Amanda was wheezing from laughter, wiping at the tears forming in her eyes, “that we are such fucking idiots for not doing something sooner.”

Akko groaned. “I know, but I’ve been too nervous actually say anything! But I thought I was being really obvious!”

“Wait a sec. So on New Year's… and that fucking glitter heart on my chest, was that, were you… flirting?? How'd I miss that???”

“Doy!” Akko booped her lightly on the forehead, before seeming to get flustered, looking up as her blush somehow got deeper. “But you didn’t... so I figured…”

Amanda groaned.

“God, I’m such an idiot. But hey. You know what?”  She cupped Akko’s face, pulling her gaze back down. Amanda felt a rush of giddiness as she looked at Akko, a warm feeling that seeped into her very bones. “One of the best things about being stuck up here forever is that I’m stuck up here forever with you.”

“Cornball!” Akko dissolved into giggles, draping her arms around Amanda’s neck and leaning their foreheads together. “Forever, huh? I like the sound of that.”

Amanda tugged at her waist, drawing Akko closer to give her a lingering kiss on the cheek.

“Yeah. Me too.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I totally headcannon that Diana knows how to count cards. Also, if you didn’t catch on while reading, each section was spaced roughly a month apart… can you believe it took them a whole year to confess?? Dorks.
> 
>  
> 
> Bonus:
> 
> “So— we pretty much trashed my cot. No way it’s getting fixed tonight.”
> 
> “You can always sleep with me~”
> 
> “I would _fucking_ love to.”
> 
> “… Amanda, did you just…?”
> 
> “I’ll never admit it.”
> 
>  
> 
> (Lol… puns) ;B


	4. One Way Trip

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Tw: Blood mention, graphic depictions of violence and injury, major character death, trauma-induced disassociation. Woo!

“That one looks like a broomstick.”

“Oh yeah?” Amanda shifted, wrapping her arm more securely around Akko as she looked up to where Akko was pointing. She turned her head to study the patch of stars more critically. “That actually might be the the big dipper.”

“No way! It’s a witch’s broom. She fell in love with a star, and flew up into space to be with her.”

Amanda snorted, burying her face in Akko’s neck and trailing kisses along her collarbone “You are such a gimongous dork.”

She leaned in, pressing her mouth teasingly against the smooth curve of Akkos’ throat, and Akko jerked in surprise, smacking into Amanda’s jaw.

“Ow! Careful, geez…" She looked up at Akko slyly through her lashes. "Aw shucks, I think I just bit my tongue. Kiss it better?”

“And I’m the dork?” But Akko smiled as she said it, leaning down to give Amanda a slow, smoldering kiss, and Amanda jumped a little as she felt Akko’s tongue slide into her mouth.

Not that it wasn’t nice. She just wasn’t expecting it _now_.

“Well,” Amanda said breathlessly a while later, feeling more than a little dazed, “you’re feisty tonight.”

“I’m happy,” Akko replied simply, smoothing Amanda’s rumpled shirt beneath her hands, and Amanda felt a shy grin spread over her face as she reached up to brush Akko’s wild hair out of her face, letting her hand linger on the curve of Akko’s cheek.

Amanda wasn't religious in the slightest, but God almighty. Amanda still could barely believe that she could just. Reach out and touch Akko like this. She never wanted to stop.

How the hell did she ever think that Akko would leave her. Every moment since after their first kiss has been the best in her whole life.

“When did I become such a goddamn sap?” she wondered aloud, smushing Akko’s face between her hands. “You look like a squashed chipmunk right now and you’re _still_ the most amazing thing I’ve ever seen.”

Akko burst into laughter, squirming as she swatted at Amanda’s hands, and before Amanda could retaliate with side-tickles Akko exclaimed with surprise, her attention fixing on something above them.

“Amanda, look! Shooting stars.”

Twisting to see, Amanda smiled as she glimpsed another streak of light. “Make a wish.”

“... done!” Akko smiled, opening her eyes a moment later. “Want to know what it was?”

“I have a feeling I already do.” Amanda drawled, leaning over to give Akko another long, lingering kiss, moving nice and slow, and Akko’s cheeks were thoroughly flushed by the time Amanda pulled away with a small smirk.

“I uh—,” Akko swallowed, flustered. “I was actually thinking pancakes, but after that I kinda feel like changing my mind.”

“Oh my fucking— pancakes?” Amanda snorted, a fond smile creeping up on her face. Akko was such a dork, and Amanda couldn’t love her more.

“Well I was hungry and—look, there’s another one!”

Well if Akko wanted something to eat... Amanda smirked, biting back the thought, and glanced up to where Akko was pointing. She frowned, squinting at the sky.

“No hold up, it’s moving too slow… it looks like a ship, see how its blinking?”

“A ship?” Amanda shrugged at Akko’s surprised look, not knowing what to make of it either. “Diana’s the only one who can enter this sector, isn’t she?”

“Yeah, it’s government property.” It wouldn’t make sense for Cavendish to be back already, though; she’d done her supply drop just a few weeks ago. But as Amanda watched, she realized what was going on. “She must be doing a run for one of the other solitaries.”

“Oh! I didn’t know there was another one so close by.”

“Neither did I; they don’t exactly tell us where we all are though,” Amanda said with a wry chuckle. “Probably worried we’ll team up and break each other out.”

Akko snorted, and the two sat quietly as they watched the ship drift slowly through the night. A few minutes passed before the light flared, and then winked out entirely as the ship landed, vanishing into the dark.

The silence was broken by a low grumble. Akko wrapped an arm around her stomach sheepishly.

Chuckling, Amanda stood up, brushing the dirt from her clothes. “Want me to make pancakes?”

“Yes please.” Akko accepted her hand with a grin, and together they headed inside.

***

It was early morning when Amanda woke up to the floorboards rumbling beneath her, the dawn light barely filtering through the slats. She groaned, rubbing her face blearily as awakeness trickled into her sleep-addled brain, not bothering to open her eyes as she spoke, voice rusty.

“…Akko, can you keep it down? I’m trying to sleep.”

The rumbling cut off, and Amanda sighed in relief. Thank fuck.

She was just about to drift off again when it occurred to her that there was no way Akko could make that noise.

And that it also sounded very familiar.

Amanda shot out of her cot, stumbling over to the window and throwing open the shutters to squint out into the rising sun. Across the valley, she could just barely make out the shape of a ship.

“What the hell?” Fuck this already, she was too tired for surprises.

She was about to throw open the door to find out what the shit was going on when it occurred to her that she should probably go out in something other than just boxers.

With a growing sense of urgency, she scrambled to get her clothes on. She could hear the shower running, Akko’s voice floating down the hall. Apparently Akko had woken up first for once, but between the water and the singing, Amanda doubted that she’d even noticed the ship touch down.

“Akko, stay inside!” she yelled over her shoulder, just in case, before taking off out the door.

There wasn’t time for anything else; Amanda could see figures by the ship, sprinting out towards her. They were yelling, waving their arms, and Amanda slowed to a jog, trying to make them out.

It was… England and Parker?

“O'Neill!” England shouted, excitement written all over her face, “You got it! You got it!”

No way. She couldn’t mean…

With a yell, Amanda hurled forward to close the distance between them, nearly colliding with Parker as she skidded to a halt, kicking up clouds of dust.

“I got my pardon?”

Their grins were all the answer she needed. Whooping, she picked up a shrieking Parker, spinning her around in giddy exhilaration. She turned to England, feeling like her face was going to split in two.

“How? I mean, what happened?”

“The protests,” Parker spoke up, panting from laughter. “They finally convinced the courts to go over the solitary cases.”

England winced, looking slightly mortified. “The details were released on yours… O'Neill, I am so sorry, I never knew...”

“Who the fuck cares?!” Amanda let out another excited whoop, catching them each under an arm in enthusiastic headlocks and pulling them towards her. “I’m going home!”

“Indeed you are.”

With small yelps, England and Parker disentangled themselves, springing up to deliver crisp salutes to Cavendish.

“At ease,” Cavendish said, clasping her hands behind her back as she addressed Amanda, posture military straight. “Congratulations, Miss O'Neill. Your pardon has come through; I am under orders to escort you home.”

“I can’t believe it,” Amanda whispered, feeling a bit dazed. She’d been waiting so long for this… “Am I leaving everything here? For the next inmate?”

Cavendish gave her a wry smile. “Not quite. The extraterrestrial-solitary system is currently under harsh review. As is, it is highly unlikely that there will be another occupant here.”

Amanda let out a low whistle. “No shit?”

“None. Most everything will simply be left behind. You are permitted to bring any personal items that you might possess. However, as you are our last stop, we can only allot you five pounds.”

“Five pounds? You kidding, that’s more than enough, the only thing here I want is my journal, everything else can rot for all I care!” Dizzy with anticipation, she shook her head. “I can’t believe this is really happening.”

“Believe it. Now, we’re on a bit of a tight schedule, so if you would allow me to accompany you back to your Block…”

“No need,” Amanda interrupted. “I’ll just run in and grab my journal and drag Akko out of the shower, and we’ll take off!”

Cavendish’s smile seemed to freeze in place. Parker and England looked at Amanda quizzically.

“What’s an akko?”

Amanda stared at Parker like she had sprouted another head, before slowly shifting her gaze to Cavendish, suddenly feeling uneasy. “Akko. She’s going home with us.”

“Akko's a person?!”

“How did someone else get here?!”

“Five pounds, Miss O'Neill,” Cavendish spoke quietly, every word adding to the dread pooling in Amanda's stomach. “We’re flying a full ship, and cannot afford to take on any more weight.”

“No… no! There’s got to be a mistake, _you_ would never forget to account for someone.”

“Captain, you knew there was another person here?” England said, looking at Cavendish in horror.

“We are the only other people here.”

“Fuck you Cavendish! You know more than anyone else that Akko is a person too.”

“O'Neill. Akko is a _machine_.”

“I’m not leaving her behind!”

“Parker, England.” Cavendish’s face was carefully blank. “Miss O'Neill appears to be thinking unclearly. Kindly escort her to the ship while I retrieve her belongings.”

“Aye Captain.”

“No!” Amanda screamed, wrenching herself away and running towards the Block. “AKKO!”

She could hear shouting behind her, signs of pursuit, and she redoubled her efforts, slamming into the wall underneath the open window and yelling into the empty room beyond. “Akko! Where are you?!”

“Back here!”

At the sound of her voice, Amanda spun around, racing to the other side of the Block, fear tightening her chest. She could hear Parker and England gaining, but they couldn’t match the extra speed terror gave her.

“Akko!”

Akko was standing by the clothesline, hair still damp from her shower and wearing her favorite yellow dress, skirt billowing gently in the breeze as she stood gathering laundry, placing it carefully into the crate resting beside her on the ground. At Amanda’s shout she turned, eyes widening as she registered Amanda’s panic.

“Amanda...?”

“They’re trying to make me go back,” Amanda grabbed Akko’s arms, breath coming is gasps. “But I'm not leaving you behind, I won't let them take me without you—”

“Calm down!” Yanking her arms out, Akko firmly grasped Amanda’s face, stilling her between two palms. “Who’s trying to take you?”

At that moment, England skidded around the corner, followed closely by a panting Parker, and at the sight of Amanda and Akko they froze.

England’s mouth dropped open.

“Captain—Captain Cavendish said Akko was a machine,” Parker stammered, and England’s face contorted in disgust.

“It’s an android,” England spat, and Amanda instinctively moved to shield Akko from her sight.

“ _Amanda_ ,” Akko whispered urgently in her ear, reaching out to cling to her arm. “ _What’s going on_?”

“ _I got my pardon_ ,” Amanda whispered back, eyes flicking briefly to meet Akko’s, and Amanda flashed a weak smile. “ _Surprise_?”

“I don’t know how you managed to smuggle that thing up here, O'Neill,” England shouted. “But you need to step away from it, right now.”

“I’m not leaving her,” Amanda snapped, voice low and dangerous. Her face must have been equally fierce, because Parker actually took a step back, blanching at Amanda’s glare. England didn’t move, loathing etched into her features.

“Look at what being up here’s done to you O'Neill. Only five years, and you’re desperate enough to turn into a robot fucker.” England glared at Akko, who gasped indignantly, before snapping her gaze back to Amanda. “It’s time to leave the slut-machine behind and come back to Earth, with _real_ people.”

“I am not a slut machine!” Amanda started at the loud voice, turning her head slightly to see Akko glaring daggers at England, looking like she was barely restraining herself from running over to kick the crap out of England. Akko's hand shook on her arm, and Amanda could tell Akko was scared out of her mind, but she held her head high and didn’t let her voice tremble, and Amanda felt her heart swell with pride. “I’m just as much of a person as you, and deserve the same respect!”

England snorted derisively. “O'Neill, last warning; come with us to the ship, and this won’t go any further.”

“No,” Amanda said quietly. She took Akko’s hand, giving it a squeeze. “I love her. I’m not leaving her behind. You’ll just have to come back later, for _both_ of us.”

Parker glanced between Amanda and England uneasily. The silence stretched oppressively, and Amanda stood her ground, unwavering.

“You may not be a cold-blooded killer,” England finally said, slowly, “but you aren’t right in the head.”

Amanda didn’t even see England draw her gun before she was staring down the barrel. Swallowing, she desperately hoped that she was projecting more confidence than she felt.

“Easy Engl—”

“Shut up!” England cut her off. “Hands above your heads. Parker, help me out here.”

Parker jumped, fumbling at her holster before pulling out her own weapon and training it shakily on Amanda.

“You’re coming with us to the ship.”

“I’m not moving.”

“You’re coming with us to the ship,” England repeated, leveling her gun at Akko’s head. “Or I shoot the bot.”

“ _They have us trapped_ ,” Akko spoke quietly, and Amanda couldn’t even look at her, completely focused on England. “ _I think you should go_.”

“ _I'm not leaving you alone_.”

“You have until three!” England called.

“ _You’ll get shot!_ ”

“ _Yeah, but you won’t. I'm not going to let them hurt you.”_

“One… two…” Vision tunneling, Amanda watched as England’s finger tightened on the trigger. “ _Thr_ —!”

_BANG! BANG!_

Amanda threw herself over Akko the moment the shots went off, bracing for the pain…

That never came. Slowly, Amanda opened her eyes, meeting Akko’s shocked expression with her own.

“Wha—?” Twisting around, but still keeping Akko covered, Amanda stared disbelievingly at the scene behind her.

England and Parker looked stunned, staring with mouths hanging comically open at their now-weaponless hands. Their guns were on the ground a few feet away, their impact leaving little craters in the sand.

As one, they all turned to look at Cavendish, standing off to the side with her arm still outstretched.

“ _Cavendish_ …?”

“Captain?!?!”

“Diana!”

_BANG!_

Amanda blinked, looking uncomprehendingly at the smoking barrel across from her. She turned to see Akko staring at her with a stunned, wide-eyed expression.

In slow motion, Akko looked down at the hole punched through the center of her chest. Her mouth formed the tiniest little ‘o’ of surprise before she collapsed.

“AKKO!” Amanda didn’t even register the scream, mind going blank of everything but the feel of Akko, limp in her arms. “Fuck. Fuck Fuck FUCK!”

“You have perhaps five minutes, Miss O'Neill.” Cavendish’s voice was distant and clinical, and it sounded to Amanda as though she were speaking through several layers of glass. “Then it will be time to go.”

Amanda could see inside the wound, the sparking bits of machinery and broken circuitry that made up Akko. She whirred under Amanda’s touch, metal fragments that once made up the top of her sternum shifting with small scraping noises. Her yellow dress was turning gold, the brightness dimming as it soaked up the fluid seeping sluggishly from Akko’s chest. Amanda was sticky with it.

“Akko,” Amanda murmured, and from where she was lying cradled in Amanda’s lap, Akko opened her eyes, grinning up at her faintly.

“ _Hi_.” Akko tried to speak more, but started coughing, wet and thick, and Amanda knew that something had punctured a lung. She shifted, lifting Akko so she could sit propped up against Amanda’s leg, and Amanda didn’t miss the wince of pain that accompanied the movement.

“I’m so, so sorry. I thought I was protecting you.”

“ _Not your fault… I stepped out from behind you._ ”

“That was a dumbass thing to do.” Amanda didn’t even realize she was crying until Akko lifted a hand, brushing at her cheek, and Amanda reached up to cradle it against her face.

“Please don’t leave me.”

A shudder went through Akko, and she trembled like she’d been struck with a current. Amanda could feel spasms of electricity race across Akkos’ skin, and Akko’s eyes flickered as she watched on helplessly, sparking with little flashes of light before dimming to a dark, dead brown. Akko twitched out a small smile.

“ _I love you._ ”

Her eyes closed, and she died with the smile still on her face.

The world was oddly quiet when Amanda finally stood, cradling Akko’s body close to her chest, a lot heavier now that it was missing its soul. Amanda wasn't even sure her own soul had stayed as she took a step forward, then another, walking numbly towards the Block.

Cavendish had been talking with England and Parker, the three huddled together and murmuring in low, buzzing voices, but as she passed they went quiet, staring at her with careful eyes. Parker was nearly paper-white, while England was a messy, blotchy pink, but Cavendish was colorless as ever, her expression almost as emotionless as Amanda felt.

Amanda moved on, not caring that she was being followed, slowly walking around the Block and past the window and up the rickety porch steps, nudging open the door so it swung with a creak into the empty room. She stepped inside, careful not to snag any limbs on the doorframe.

Akko’s cot was still almost like new, even after all the time Akko spent drooling on it. Gently, Amanda lowered the body down, Akko’s dress pooling across the stiff fabric, gold against green.

Amanda took off Akko’s sandals –Akko hated shoes in bed— kneeling next to the cot, taking one last look in order to memorize the features that used to be Akko's. Placing a light kiss on its forehead, she stood, walking outside. The door shut quietly behind her.

Cavendish was waiting for her on the porch.

“You can take me back to Earth now.” Amanda’s voice was dull, rougher and more subdued than she could ever remember it being.

“Very well.” Cavendish reached out a gloved hand, hovering over –but not quite touching— Amanda’s shoulder to guide her down the stairs, where a somber England and Parker were waiting. Silently, they each took an arm, and Amanda didn’t resist as they began escorting her back to the ship.

“It’s for the best,” Cavendish called, nearly motionless on the steps, fixing her gloves as she watched Amanda walk away. “The only thing you’ll be leaving behind here is loneliness.”

Amanda thought about the body, laid to rest on the cot. “I’ll remember to keep that in mind.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> “ _On a microscopic piece of sand that floats through space is a fragment of a woman's life. Left to rust is the place she lived in and the machines she used. Without use, they will disintegrate from the wind and the sand and the years that act upon them. All of Amanda’s machines, including the one made in her image, kept alive by love, but now obsolete—in The Twilight Zone._ ”  
> –Rod Serling (paraphrased)
> 
>  
> 
> The End. :)


	5. Epilogue

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeah I was never really satisfied with how the TZ episode ended... too many holes. Literally. :P So just think of this as Ending #2, aka, the Fixed version. ;)
> 
> Tw: Feelings. Also, implied alcoholism, implied PTSD, violence, blood mention, vomiting

There wasn’t enough booze in the world to drown Akko’s face from her mind.

Amanda plunked her head on the bar, watching with bleary eyes as her breath fogged over the glossy wood. It was chipped, nicked from a thousand fights and a thousand more shattered glasses that stained the surface of the cheap coating they’d put to try and make the old surface pretty again. Good fucking luck. The place was a shithole, just like its patrons.

Just like her.

It was crowded tonight. The lure of cheap drinks and free karaoke brought people in swarms, packing the room with sweaty bodies and foul smells. The throb of conversation stirred the haze of cigarette smoke lingering in the air, sending it swirling into lungs and fogging up Amanda’s vision so she could barely see the empty bottles in front of her. Or maybe it was just the alcohol kicking in.

She waved a hand in the air, signaling the barkeep for another round. In the corner, a new track started, the girl at the mike swaying and red-faced and singing an octave too high.

_~You’re the sky that I fell through… ~and I remember the view… ~whenever I’m holding you…_

Amanda didn’t hear when she walked up, but out of the corner of her eye she watched as the woman pulled up a stool beside her, smoothing the surface of her skirt as she sat like it wasn’t already perfectly wrinkle-free.

“You made yourself quite difficult to find.”

“If I’d known you were looking, I’d have made it harder.” Amanda nodded her thanks to Lee as a new bottle was plunked in front of her, ignoring the raised brow the barkeep shot her as she took a swig, the cold drink burning her throat all the way down. She’d been a regular long enough that Lee no longer questioned her tolerance, but he always gave her these stupidly concerned looks once she got a few bottles in.

They could all mind their own damn business.

She didn’t look at Cavendish as she drank, resolutely staring forward and stubbornly angling her body away. Maybe Cavendish would take the hint and get the hell out of her hair.

“I didn’t expect to find you here, Miss O'Neill.”

“Where else would I be?”

“I assumed I would eventually come across you at home, or your place of work.”

Amanda snorted humorlessly. She hadn’t been back to any of those traps. Why bother when she had enough for cheap hotels and even cheaper drinks? “Work? What, and waste the cushy government checks I’m getting?”

“Those are reimbursement for your false conviction, as consolation and to help your transition to regular life.”

“Like I want to go back to that sshit,” Amanda slurred, tongue heavy in her mouth, finally glancing at Cavendish, who had twisted sideways to face her, drumming her fingers against the bar. Expression inscrutable as ever.

“You’re intoxicated.”

“Damn! It’s Captain- _fucking_ -Obvious.”

“More intoxicated than I anticipated,” Cavendish corrected, a small frown flitting across her face. Like she had any right to be upset at her state.

Amanda spun on her seat, arms spread wide. “So what? Look at me, I’ma fuckin’ fit as a fiddle. Fine as hell.” She wobbled a bit in her seat, but quickly found her balance, taking a swig. “I don’t need to go back to any of that.”

“Amanda, you’re not fine.” Cavendish looked… almost sad, and Amanda did her best to ignore it. Threw back another swallow. “You need help.”

Amanda swished the bottle, noticing with disappointment that the level had dropped considerably. She barely felt any drunker. She side-eyed Cavendish, bitterness leaking into her tone.

“Y’no what s-ucks? Akko— Akko was always helping me out with my. _Shitty_ attitude and listening to me with all my dramatic ass fuckin’ problems a-a-and I never did a _damn_ thing for her. I’m the only reason she was on that rock, and I’m the reason that she… she’s…”

With a yell that was half sob lodged in her throat, Amanda threw the near-empty bottle with all her strength, sending it smashing against the back wall before burying her face in her hands, elbows on the bar.

Fuck. Her head felt loose, thoughts welling up and screaming for attention. “I need another drink.”

“I think you’ve had quite enough.”

“You’regunna keep that from me too?”

Through the haze, Amanda watched Cavendish’s expression fold inwards. “I’m not sure I follow.”

“You,” Amanda enunciated slowly, anger seeping through the fog in her brain and sharpening her words, “stole everything from me. You left me up there to rot. Oh sure you might have felt bad,” she kept going, cutting off Cavendish, who was trying to speak, “Guilty enough to give me trinkets.”

“I still dream about her y’know. How…” Amanda felt tears stinging at her eyes, and snarled quietly, choking them back. “She was the best damn thing in my life.”

“And then _you_ ,” she glared at Cavendish, voice hoarse as she spat out her next words, “you went and pulled the fucking trigger.”

Wordlessly, Cavendish reached into her jacket, placing a battered looking journal on the counter between them. Amanda blinked slowly, rage coiling in her muscles as the cover slowly worked its way into focus.

“Fuck. You.”

“Amanda, permit me to expl—”

“FUCK YOU! You’ve had this for all the months you’ve—? How much have you read?!”

“All of it, but that’s irrelevant at the moment. Listen—”

With a yell, Amanda launched herself forward, sending their stools toppling as she grabbed the front of Cavendish’s blouse in her fist, and Cavendish just barely managed to dodge her first wild punch, twisting out of her grip and ducking beneath her. She used the momentum to flip Amanda over her shoulder, sending her flying headfirst across the bar, empty bottles and broken glass scattering in her wake.

Amanda rolled off with a curse, wiping the blood from her split lip as she landed heavily on her feet, and then Cavendish was in front of her, blocking every swing Amanda threw.

Cavendish’s mouth was moving, but between the drinks humming through her veins and the screaming cacophony in her head Amanda couldn’t hear a word, couldn’t hear anything but her own howls as she forced Cavendish take one step back, then another, before Amanda stumbled clumsily on her unsteady feet. Cavendish took advantage, sweeping Amanda’s legs out from under her in a movement too quick for her to register.

Amanda went down hard, but managed to hook an arm around Cavendish to bring her tumbling too, and in a moment they were grappling on the dirty boards, and Amanda’s breath was rough in her chest as they tangled together in a mess of flailing limbs. Cavendish did something with her legs, and before Amanda knew it the back of her head was slamming into the floor, stars whiting out the room.

And Amanda didn’t know if it was the alcohol or the new concussion, but as her vision started to clear she could see Akko’s face hovering over her own, as she pinned Amanda triumphantly into the sand with her full weight on Amanda’s hips. The sun haloed Akko’s face as she leaned in, eyes warm and dancing, a soundless laugh ghosting across Amanda’s ears.

“Bloody hell, Amanda, listen to me!”

Amanda blinked, and it was Cavendish above her with a frustrated look on her face, steely blue gaze locked onto hers as she hissed out the words.

Akko was gone.

Amanda went limp, all the fight leaving her in a rush. What was even the point of this.

“Fuck you,” she mumbled weakly.

“I know someone who can help you,” Diana whispered, and Amanda hated the pity in her eyes. “But you have to listen to me.”

“ _Fuck you_ , let me up.”

“Only if you’ll hear me out.”

“Fine,” Amanda growled, but she was too drained for there to be any bite to her words. “Not like you can make things any worse.”

Cavendish nodded as if that decided things, sitting up and releasing Amanda’s wrists from where they’d been pinned on either side of her. Not a lot of people had been paying attention to the fight –hell, the girl at the mic had kept going like no one else was in the room, and Amanda suspected she’d started her song over— but Cavendish still flushed when she looked around and noticed the few stares.

“Don’t know what you expected,” Amanda muttered as she sat up, rubbing at her wrists. “Alright, show’s over, go back to getting shit-faced!”

She dumped Cavendish off of her lap as she addressed the crowd, weaving a bit when she stood. She didn’t bother to take the steadying hand Cavendish offered her.

“Right,” Cavendish said brusquely. She brushed at the dirt they’d picked up during their brawl, but otherwise she didn’t have a hair of place. How the fuck. “One moment please.”

As Amanda waited impatiently, Cavendish strode over to the bar, scooping up the journal and depositing a small stack of bills on the counter.

“This should be more than enough to cover the damages; I’m terribly sorry for the commotion.”

“It’s alright ma’am,” Lee said evenly, shooting Cavendish a smile as he wiped out a glass. “Please take good care of Amanda for us.”

“Of course.”

“Fuck you too Lee!”

Ignoring the outburst, Cavendish turned and headed back over. “My car is just around the side. We can talk privately there.”

Amanda nodded, not saying another word as they left, and not bothering to hold the door for Cavendish as she pushed her way outside into the city haze. It was cold and cloudy, just starting to rain, and Amanda hoped the car was warm. They walked quickly, breath puffing out in clouds, letting the sounds of the bar and its horrible karaoke fade behind them.

_~…you’d be home… ~If my heart was a house, you’d be home._

***

Once in the car –and a fucking fancy one it was too, idling all black and shiny, with a driver up front separated from them with a thin glass divider— Cavendish turned towards her bluntly.

“Your extraction from solitary was a disaster.”

“No friggin’ shit?” Amanda slumped down, kicking her feet up on the leather seat in front of her. “Could’a fooled me, I thought it went peachy.”

“I let events spiral out of control,” Cavendish went on. “The actions that I had to take in order to contain the situation were unfortunate. I acted as I felt was necessary, but I regret that I was unable to prevent things from going as far as they did.”

“Great apology Cavendish, I’m feeling much better.”

At her harsh tone, Cavendish winced, and for the first time Amanda saw remorse flicker across her features. “I _am_ sorry. I've caused you a great deal of emotional distress. But perhaps I can make it up to you, at least a little.”

Once again, Cavendish reached into her jacket, holding out the journal. Amanda took it, a sad smile playing on her lips.

“Thanks, but I don’t think the memories will be enough.”

“Turn to the back.”

Puzzled, Amanda undid the strap, opening the (still dusty, even now—fucking dirt) cover, flipping past her pages of writing and scribbled drawings to the blank sheets in the back.

A shallow hole had been cut into the remaining pages, and inside was nestled... something.

“What’s this?” Amanda reached in, carefully extracting a delicate looking circuit. It reminded her of an old floppy-disk she’d seen in a museum, but much, much more intricate. She held it up, fascinated with the way the light rippled over the elegantly coiled wires and embedded crystals.

“It’s Akko,” Cavendish stated simply, and Amanda nearly dropped the chip.

“What?!”

“What you are currently holding is a variation of the NVRAM circuit, or ‘flash drive,’ as they used to be known. Each one is absolutely unique, crafted to hold a specific personality; memories, habits, preferences… everything that makes Akko ‘ _Akko_ ’ is stored in there.”

“Holy fuck.” Amanda suddenly felt dizzy, and decided that she should probably put the chip back before she did something to hurt it. “So what you’re saying—?”

“With this chip, reconstruction is theoretically possible. I was going to inform you I had the means, but events were spiraling out of control rather rapidly…” Cavendish tutted, sitting back in her seat. “You understand the necessity, of course, of me not allowing England to blow Akko’s head off.”

“By shooting your own hole in her and running back to grab the chip while we were all too fucked up to notice.”

“I hardly ran, Miss O'Neill, but I suppose the point still stands.” She smiled –not quite a smirk, but definitely slyer than it should have been— crossing her legs in front of her with an amused air. “I was actually rather surprised to find it; I would have assumed you’d rescue the chip after you’d transported Akko inside.”

Amanda shook her head. “I didn’t even know Akko was wired like that.”

Cavendish raised a skeptical eyebrow.

“The process for core memory retrieval is extensively detailed. Didn’t you read the manual?”

“Fuuuuuuuuuuu—!” Amanda stretched out the swear with a groan as she slouched even further in her seat, shoes scuffing the leather and the journal gripped in her hand tight enough for her fingers to throb.

Holy hell, she felt light headed.

She started laughing, hysterical giggles that made her stomach screw unpleasantly, and somehow Cavendish sprung the door open on her side just in time to stop her from throwing up all over the upholstery.

As Amanda gagged into the street, she felt Cavendish hesitantly settle her hand onto Amanda’s back, rubbing soothing circles as she spewed the last sour remnants of alcohol into gutter, the rain already sending it swirling sluggishly down a nearby storm drain.

By the time Amanda sat up, her hair was soaked, her head was pounding, and her gut was clenching uncomfortably around the emptiness in her stomach. Cavendish passed her a water bottle, and Amanda swished the liquid through her teeth, spitting the bitter taste from her mouth out into the street.

She felt better than she had in ages.

“We can get Akko back.”

“Yes, we can get her back,” Cavendish confirmed, mouth curling up fondly at the corners as Amanda slumped back into the car’s interior, overwhelmed with relief. Cavendish patted her shoulder, then recoiled slightly, nose crinkling. “But first, I believe that we should see to getting you cleaned up.”

Amanda glanced down at herself self-consciously –she hadn’t even noticed how much she reeked, beer sweat staining her torn and rumpled clothes, and was intensely grateful she hadn’t gotten any sick on her— as Cavendish pressed a button in the door.

“Chariot, I believe we are ready to return to the hotel.”

“No problem!” The voice sounded smoothly through a small speaker in the roof, and through the divider Amanda saw the driver turn to look over her shoulder, flashing them a bright smile. “We should be there in a few minutes.”

“Take your time.”

The car pulled smoothly away from the curb, and Amanda stared through the divider. That cascade of red hair seemed awfully familiar, though Amanda knew she’d never met the woman in her life.

“Cavendish… who the hell is your driver?”

“Chariot isn’t anyone’s, Miss O'Neill, and certainly not mine,” Cavendish replied easily, wearing that shit-eating grin of hers, the one that meant she was about to swindle them out of a whole box of Earl Grey. “She is a very dear friend, and was kind enough to offer aid in soliciting the services of perhaps the only person who can help us. I’m sure you will get to know the both of them quite well over the next few weeks.”

As though she were listening, Chariot glanced up into the rearview mirror, catching Amanda’s gaze. She winked conspiratorially, with eyes the color of ripe raspberries.

***

“Alright, that ought to do it.”

Pushing her goggles up, Croix ran her fingers through her shock of lilac hair, the habit leaving grimy streaks in the already messy strands.

Amanda had remembered Cavendish –Diana, she mentally corrected— mentioning that she'd been a student of Akko’s creator. What Diana _failed_ to tell her was that Croix was also the designer of the androids’ advanced memory circuit, the creator of the nanobots that allowed the androids to heal themselves, and chief inventor of a whole mess of other tech that apparently made her a Big Fucking Deal in the robotics industry.

Not to mention that Croix was also Diana’s Aunt. Which, to be honest, didn’t actually surprise Amanda all that much when she found out; the two had the same delicate cheekbones, and annoying, smug-ass smirk, though at least Diana had the grace to try and be modest. Croix was an ostentatious, meme-loving little shit.

It was fucking great.

Chariot handed Croix a small towel, pausing to give her wife a small kiss on the cheek.

“Thanks babe.” Wiping the grime off her hands, Croix stepped out from behind the table where she had been fiddling with the nerves connecting up and down Akko’s spine, running some last-minute checks.

 “So,” she said, turning towards Amanda, sitting nearby, “everything’s good to go internally. I’ve just switched on the nano’ production, so they’ll patch up everything in the back. She’ll fire up automatically once that’s finished.”

Amanda nodded, shifting so that the chair underneath her creaked. She’d been spending a lot of time hanging out in the workroom, in the month that it took for Croix to rebuild Akko’s body, so she had a rough idea about what was going on.

It had been slow going; they couldn’t get any outside help if they wanted Akko to remain off the government registry, which meant Croix had to do everything herself in her personal lab.

 _But,_ Croix had told Amanda, taking Chariot’s hand and smiling at her in a secretive sort of way, _it’s worth it to keep Akko off the radar._

Coming from the only person Amanda knew in a relationship with an android who’d actually been living with all the ‘bot politics Earthside, the advice made sense. There may have been a few quiet objections about the way androids were treated, but Amanda knew that it wasn’t even enough to cause a ripple in the speciesist majority.

If Akko had to come back into a world with that sort of fucked up ideology, Amanda was going to do her damndest to protect her every way she could.

“It’ll still be a few hours before activation, so I'm heading out.” Amanda blinked as Croix’s voice cut into her train of thought. She refocused as Croix slung the towel over her shoulder. “You gonna sit here until then?”

“I waited this long,” Amanda said mildly. Croix shrugged.

“Suit yourself,” she said, bracing her hands on her hips and arching her back, wincing a little at the resulting pops. “Damn, I need a beer.”

“Amanda, honey, let us know if you need anything, alright?” Chariot ruffled her hair fondly, and Amanda ducked her head, pretending to be annoyed. Though honestly, she had grown to enjoy the affection. “We won’t be far off. Call us if you want a break.”

“Ah quit being such a fussbot,” Croix rolled her eyes, snaking an arm around Chariot’s waist and tugging her close as they started walking out. “Manny’s got it covered… so what’s say you and me have some fun in the meantime, hmm~?”

Croix turned to murmur in Chariot’s ear, and Chariot smacked her upside the head, face red as her hair. Amanda could hear Croix’s laughter long after they’d left the room.

It was just her and Akko now.

There wasn’t a lot to look at –Croix kept the room surprisingly clean, everything white and sterile looking— so Amanda looked at Akko, letting her mind wander.

She looked really small, sitting ramrod straight with her hands folded neatly over her flimsy hospital gown. Her expression was peaceful, eyes softly closed as though she were only sleeping.

Croix was completely confident that she could get Akko back to her regular self. But Diana –pulling Amanda off to the side and out of earshot of Croix’s boasting— had warned her that there was still a small chance things might not transfer properly. No one had ever tried re-constructing an android without wiping it first, and there was no knowing if any of Akko’s newer memories would survive.

Amanda hadn’t cared; she just wanted Akko back. But now, as the minutes ticked past, Amanda couldn’t stop the growing anxiety that something would go wrong at the last minute.

What if Akko didn’t remember her?

She was just starting to doze off when a soft whirring made her start upright, her elbow slipping from the arm of the chair. On the table, Akko was slowly ticking to life, chest expanding with air as she inhaled for the first time, again, and Croix wasn't back yet, shouldn’t Amanda call or something, what was she supposed to—

Then Akko opened her eyes, and Amanda forgot how to breathe.

“Hey,” Amanda said softly. She stood up slowly, taking a step towards Akko, but hesitating a few paces away.

Akko looked at her, blinking slowly. Then she smiled, tilting her head inquisitively to the side.

“My name is Akko. What is your name?”

Amanda felt her heart plummet.

“N-” Amanda coughed, trying to clear her throat. It felt like she’d swallowed a mouthful of sand. “Naw, c’mon. Don’t make me tell you again.”

A strange look crossed Akko’s face, as though she was struggling to make out something that wasn’t quite in focus. She narrowed her eyes at Amanda, leaning forward intently to search her face. Pinned by her scrutiny, Amanda saw the exact moment it clicked, recognition dawning in Akko’s eyes.

“Amanda?”

“Yeah.” And then Amanda was wrapped around her, face buried in Akko’s hair as she cried. Akko clung to her with tight arms, and Amanda could feel Akko shuddering with sobs of her own. “It’s me. Oh my god, Akko—”

“Where-” Akko hiccupped slightly, voice watery. “What happened?”

Amanda pulled back, staring at her soberly. “How much do you remember?”

“I remember…” Akko trailed off, her hand drifting up to clutch at her chest, and she looked down, seeming surprised to find herself intact.

Amanda gently pulled her hand away, kissing each finger as she laced them between her own. “It’s okay. You’re okay now,” she murmured, and with her other hand Akko traced the dark circles under Amanda’s eyes.

A small crease appeared between Akko’s brows. “How long was I gone?”

Amanda chuckled. That was one way to put it. “A little over a year.”

Akko looked horrified. “I left you alone for that long?”

“No no no, hey now,” Amanda objected, briefly kissing Akko’s nose. “It wasn’t your fault. And I wasn’t alone for too long; Diana yanked my head out of my ass before things got really bad.”

“Diana?” Akko’s jaw dropped a bit at the information. “But I thought—”

“So did I at first,” Amanda admitted, brushing her thumb gently across Akko’s knuckles. “But she was the one who got you out of there. She even managed to keep England and Parker from reporting anything. As fucking dramatic as the whole thing was, I get why she did it like she did.” Amanda scowled. “Still kinda want to punch her face in for hurting you though.”

Akko laughed, a breathless sound that made Amanda’s heart squeeze in her chest. Fuck, she’d missed that laugh.

“I knew it… I knew Diana was on our side.” Akko sat up a little straighter, an excited note creeping into her voice. “Does that mean we’re on Earth now?”

“Yup.” Amanda grinned, glancing meaningfully around the room. “You recognize this place?”

Akko frowned, chewing on her bottom lip, before lighting up as the memory hit her. “This looks like the room I saw the red lady in!”

“Her name is Chariot. I gotta hand it to you, she’s pretty as hell. You have good taste in women.”

Akko swatted at her, and Amanda laughed, dotting kisses on Akko’s flushed cheeks, and it was so easy for them to fall back into their old routine, and Amanda was never going to stop teasing her if it meant seeing Akko smiling like this, safe beside her.

“Seriously, you’ll love her. She’s an android, like you; her wife built you guys herself. Twice, in your case.”

“Wow,” Akko breathed, looking more than a little overwhelmed, stars shining in her eyes. “I can’t wait to meet them.”

Amanda grinned and stepped back, tugging their entwined hands.

“C’mon. I’ve got a whole world to introduce you too.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For those curious, the song at the bar is [If My Heart was a House](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=quDk3iZtccI), by Owl City, which I think is incredibly fitting for these two. <3
> 
> Thank you all so much for reading!! This took me a really long time to get done, like almost two years, so I hope you all found it as satisfying to read as I felt completing it. :3 This is the first multi-chapter fic I've actually managed to finish, so I'm super stoked??? :D
> 
> But what's that you say? There are still (non-physical) holes in the story? Loose ends that need to be tied up? Well. Hopefully the sequel wont take me as long to get done... because I may have jumped the gun and already started it. Whoops. ¯\\_(:P)_/¯
> 
> As always, I'd love to hear from y'all in the comments. Thanks again for stickin' through it. I appreciate you. ＼(^ω^)/


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